An Evening With Elvis at Du Quoin Fair

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Sunday night proved to be everything anticipated. The "Blue Suede Crew" group is just short of being sensational. Scott Wattles, the Elvis impersonator, was so entertaining that we made a "phone date" for the next morning (Monday). We called Scott, or "Elvis", take your pick, Monday morning at his place of real-life employment -- Mattoon Middle School -- where both he and his wife, Sonja, teach.

"We really felt good about our opening night at the fair," Scott said. "It was like training for a fight and I had a difficult time in realizing that we were performing on the same grounds as dozens and dozens of the greatest names in the entertainment world had once appeared."

Wattles opens with a 30-minute set as "Elvis" before giving way to "Johnny Cash", Keith Furry in real life. Wattles said, "Keith, who like all the other guys in our band grew up in the same neighborhood with me in Mattoon, does about 20 minutes and is joined by "June Carter Cash" (Jan Daily) for a few numbers." After Rev. Robert Reynolds, who has national honors in his resume, entertains with his guitar briefly, Wattles returns in a different "Elvis" wardrobe to finish with basically gospel songs.

We "guessed" prior to the opening of the 87th Fair that the group would be a show stopper. It is. Fans looking for 90 minutes-plus of musical entertainment need to stop in at the "Free Entertainment Tent" at 7:30 p.m. The group is performing nightly through Sunday, Sept. 6.