People from around the world visit Elvis Presley Birthplace Home in Tupelo

Elvis fans gathered at the Elvis Birthplace for Fan Appreciation Day

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Elvis fans gathered at the Elvis Birthplace for Fan Appreciation Day.

Dozens came to visit the iconic two-room house where Elvis was born. They could also stop and hear some music, or venture up the hill to the lookout and grab an Elvis Burger from the Tupelo Elvis Fan Club.

Roy Turner is the Executive Director of the birthplace home.

“Elvis is a phenomenon, a God-given gift, and such a generous kind humble spirit,” Turner said. “In his lifetime through his music, he touched a lot of people. And here we are forty-six years after his death, and his story, and his music is still touching people. I’m seeing a lot of young people that are discovering him for the first time.”

Jack Curtis is past president of the Tupelo Elvis Fan Club and is an Elvis impersonator.

“We just love Elvis,” Curtis said. “We appreciate Elvis as a person because we know his story. And when fans know who Elvis the Man is, and then you add to that his great entertainment ability as the King of Rock in Roll it just is something special. We know who Elvis the man was and we appreciate that, and we just want to share that with the world.”

As always there are a lot of foreign visitors coming to the Elvis Birthplace Home. And this day there were two large groups. One from Holland, and one from Belgium.

Jeroen Vanderschoot is part of a 2000-member Elvis Fan Club in Belgium. He likes to come to Tupelo to remember Elvis’s humble beginning.

“It’s a big difference between Graceland and Tupelo,” Vanderschoot said. I like Tupelo because it’s a very quiet place. You know where Elvis started and where he was born in the little house with only two rooms. And then when you compare that with Graceland, it’s a big difference but you know always where Elvis came from and that’s what I like from a small guy to the biggest entertainer of the world.”

Robin Klarenbeek runs an Elvis Museum in Amsterdam.

“What I like the most it all starts here,” Klarenbeek said. “Elvis was born and raised in Tupelo and later on he went to Memphis but he was born here so it was a kind of privilege seeing the place and being here for the fourth time. Giving away a lot of money to charity, to world cancer, Make a Wish Foundation, St. Jude’s hospital.”