Elvis is Leaving the Building

Galleries at Night to Launch Final Weekend for Elvis at 21 in Winchester

Winchester, VA 10/06/10…Special nighttime hours and a lecture about Elvis Presley’s roots in Memphis will launch the final weekend for the display of Elvis at 21 at Winchester’s Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV).

This special weekend will kick off on Friday, October 8, when the MSV will be open from 4 to 9 p.m. for Galleries at Night. The evening’s highlight will be the 7 p.m. lecture, “The Boy Who Would Be King,” by John Doyle, the executive director of the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Doyle will discuss Elvis Presley’s roots in Memphis and share some humorous stories about Elvis as a teenager and the unique influences which propelled him into a musical icon. Those interested in attending the lecture are encouraged to arrive early; seating is limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Before or after the lecture, visitors may tour Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer in the MSV Changing Exhibition Gallery.

Also on Friday night, wine will be available for purchase in the Museum lobby for $5 a glass, and the café will offer a barbeque sandwich or Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) for dinner. Both meals will be served with a side salad and may be purchased for $7.95. The café will also serve a variety of desserts, including, as a tip of the hat to Elvis, chocolate peanut butter pie. During Galleries at Night, all dessert purchases will be served with a free cup of hot tea. Also on Friday evening and extending throughout the weekend, the Museum Store will offer a 20 percent discount on all Elvis merchandise.

Admission to Galleries at Night is free to MSV Members and $5 for all others. Since the fee includes gallery admission and the lecture, Galleries at Night is a wonderful value for those who wish to see the Elvis exhibition.

Elvis at 21 presents 56 photographs that capture unguarded moments in Elvis Presley’s life before he was “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”. The exhibition was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, and the Govinda Gallery of Washington, DC. Elvis at 21 is sponsored nationally by HISTORY™. The exhibition’s display at the MSV is sponsored by 92.5 WINC FM. A grant from the Smithsonian Community Grant Program, funded by MetLife Foundation, assisted the MSV in the development and implementation of Friday’s lecture.

Elvis at 21 is traveling to museums around the country through 2013. Sunday, October 10, will mark the final day for the exhibition’s three-month display at the MSV. Following its showing at the MSV, Elvis at 21 will be on view at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, from October 23 through January 23, 2011.

The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley will be open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, October 9 and 10. Both days, gallery admission to the Museum—including Elvis at 21—is $8 for adults and $6 for seniors. Admission to the MSV is always free to MSV Members and children aged six and under.

The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia. The MSV complex—which includes the Museum, the Glen Burnie Historic House, and six acres of gardens—is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The house and gardens are open March through November; the Museum is open year-round. Additional information is available on the web at www.ShenandoahMuseum.org or by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 235. – END –


Julie B. Armel
540-662-1473, ext. 225
armel@shenandoahmuseum.org