NI aNI R HNM NI Learning Society hosts performing arts wee FOR HOMETOWN NEWS JUPITER The Lifelong Learning Society at Florida Atlantic University's John D. MacArthur Jupiter campus will celebrate its 10th anniversary, "The Year of the Student and Faculty," dur- ing a performing arts week, scheduled for Jan. 7 through Jan. 12. Beginning in 1997 with 120 students, the Lifelong Learning Society has grown to more than 5,000 mem- bers by offering stimulating liberal arts classes and spe- cial one-time events. The performing arts week will consist of a variety of performances and lectures: Jan. 7, at 10 a.m. Virginia Newmyer, noted lecturer on British social history and lit- erature, will guide the audi- ence into the world of "Jane Austen Goes to the Movies" as she explores the dramati- zations of Jane Austen's nov- els. Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. Musical duo Marlene and Chet Solender will conduct a lec- ture and performance, "Rodgers and Hart to Rodgers and Hammerstein." Jan. 8, at 2 p.m. Pianist Joe Scott will present a con- cert featuring his eight- piece jazz ensemble. Jan. 9, at 11 a.m. Kit Stewart will perform "A Salute to the Greatest Song- birds," featuring the songs of female vocalists Billie Holiday, Rosemary Clooney, Patsy Cline and Karen Car- penter. Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. Robert Milne, French horn virtuoso and pianist, will perform a variety of ragtime classics in "From Chopin to Boogie Woogie." 'ai. 10, at 11a.m. Myrna' Goldberger, educational 1: '.* k entertainer, will present her one-act play, "The Vander- bilt Vignettes." The play focuses on three Vanderbilt women: Alva, Consuelo and Gloria. Jan. 10, at 3:30 p.m. Robert Edsel, author of "Rescuing Da Vinci, will speak about the "monu- ments men" and their exploits during World War II while rescuing and safe- guarding many of the world's greatest artworks. Jan. 11, at 1:30 p.m. "India and China: Asia's Emerging Giants" will be the topic of a symposium con- ducted by Elliot L. Tepper of the Asian studies depart- ment at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, Ambas- sador Karl Inderfurth and author and Asian affairs consultant Bonnie S. Glaser. Jan.12, at 1:30 p.m. A performance by the Maltz Jupiter Theatre's 2006-07 Palm Beach Idols winners and the Maltz youth travel- ing group singing today's top hits and Broadway favorites. All events take place in the Lifelong Learning Society complex, located on FAU's Jupiter campus at 5353 Parkside Drive in Abacoa. For more information, to purchase tickets for the 2008 performing arts week or to receive a free 2008 winter catalog, contact the Lifelong Learning Society at (561) 799-8667 or (561) 799-8547. The Lifelong Learning Society atFAUjupiter is ded- icated to enriching the lives of mature students by offer- ing non-credit, university- level courses that are taught by qualified professors and guest lecturers. King From page B1 image-wise. I don't call myself an impersonator because most of them are over-the-top. My show's a little classier. The way I do the show, it's a tribute. Dur- ing the show I never say I'm Elvis. I have a lot of people come up and say, "we didn't know what to expect,. but you do an honor to Elvis' music and his memory," and that's a good thing. I'd rather remind them of Elvis and still be me rather than a carbon copy. Q: Describe your show. A: I actually do a story of the career. We've got a full production band, horn sec- tion, back-up singers and a couple of girl dancers. I wear similar clothing for the eras, like for the early '50s music like "Blue Suede Shoes" and "All Shook Up" and that kind of stuff. We also do some of the songs from the movies, such as "Return to Sender" from "Blue Hawaii." Then we move into the black leather, which was from a special with Elvis back in 1968 after the movies and people weren't sure if he could still rock and roll and "be Elvis." We also do the white-fringe, early 1970s stuff when he was still lean and looked good, songs like "Suspicious Minds" and "Burnin' Love." I try to present him at his best. I also talk about the histo- ry of the music. For instance, when we're doing "Heartbreak Hotel" I say that they used to cut Elvis off at the waist when they filmed the "Ed Sullivan Show," because they felt he was moving too much. Q: What are some of your favorite Elvis movies and songs? A: Movie-wise, one of the earlier ones, which was kind of a silly one, called "Girl Happy." It's a fun movie and some parts were filmed in Fort Lauderdale (where Mr. MacDonald is from). (I also like) "Jailhouse Rock" and "King Creole." Music-wise it's hard to pick. He recorded more than 300 songs. One of my favorites is a lot of peoples' favorites: "Can't Help Falling in Love." That was a beauti- ful song. Q: With so many songs, do you know all of them if there's a request? A: No. Of course, people love the music from the '50s and '60s, but I do have peo- ple (at the shows) come up with requests for obscure songs from the movies or ones he did in concert. There are a few songs I don't think Elvis wanted to remember (laughs). One of them that comes to mind is "Yoga is as Yoga Does." I know the title, but I didn't learn it (chuckles). Q: According to your Web site, you are the only tribute artist who has been asked by Elvis Presley Enterprises to perform at Graceland's Heartbreak Hotel. What was that experience like? A: I've done (Las) Vegas, been in the Legends show and I've gone all over the place with the show, but that is the greatest honor. Being asked to do it for six years to me just proves the enter- tainment value (of my show). It's amazing to see how many people come from all over the place. It just proves that Elvis is part of our pop culture. ' (Mr. MacDonald per- formed at Graceland from 2000-06 in January, which is Elvis' birthday month and August, which is his memo- rial. He will be back in Mem- phis, Tenn., this August for the memorial.) Q: Have you, ever met Priscilla (Elvis' ex-wife) or Lisa Marie (his only child)? A: I've never met them. I've been near them and I've seen them, but they stay away from that kind of stuff. I have met Elvis' stepbrother and I have worked with D.J. Fontana and the Jor- danaires, his original back- upband. . ;: .. . ,,: Q: Are there any anec- dotes you want to share from your experiences in Memphis? A: I had an interesting thing happen when I was setting up for a show at the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. I was doing a sound check, and this nice looking older lady came up to me while I was singing "Can't Help Falling in Love" and asked me if I was lip-synch- ing. I said no, I'm singing, I have a show here later, and she goes, "I thought you were lip-synching. That's amazing and I should know, I was his mother-in-law." She was Priscilla's step- mother. I verified it with the office, arid she was staying at the Peabody Hotel. Q: I imagine you've toured Graceland (the 13.8- acre estate where Elvis lived for 20 years, which is now where he is buried and a museum for his fans). Did you see anything there that surprised you or gave you a different perspective on Elvis? A: The house is frozen in the '70s. The amazing thing is the racquetball court area where all his records and awards are. You can see his body of work and you just know it will no doubt stand the test of time. His home, even though it was big, also showed that he was still a down-home kind of guy. Q: Do you have followers that come to every show or travel to see you? A: I do have a lot of very, very nice people who come out to see the shows all over, the country. I do have fans that travel or come back every time we're near their area. Q: In addition to your tributes to Elvis, you are also working on some origi- nal country music and have written and recorded some of them. How do you bal- ance the two? A: The tributes, of course, pay the bills, and allow me to do the country music. I was doing country covers when I started doing the Elvis tribute shows, but real- lygot into the country music about four or five years ago. I have lyrics written all over napkins, envelopes and lot- tery tickets that didn't win. I also dream a lot of songs, which I know doesn't make sense, but I will be dreaming and see a video of the song in my head and wake myself up and write down the words. I actually have recorded. four songs in Nashville. I used the Jordanaires for a lit- tle bit of flavor on them, and actually RayWalker from the Jordanaires is my producer. I have six more songs I've written that I need to record, but right now it's a timing sit- uation. I plan on completing the record by February or March. Q: Are there any current country singers that influ- ence you? A: There's a lot of great per- formers. The edgier side of me likes Toby Keith, and of course, there's the king of country music George Strait. Tim McGraw's also had some good songs, and Brad Paisley. I actually have become a Nashville BMI writer and as much as I would like to do some of these songs (I've written), I would love for them to do them as well. Q: What do you think it is about Elvis that has kept him alive for so many peo- ple? A: He's kind of the Ameri- can dream, but at the same time, it ended in tragedy, as so many have. It's that Cin- derella-story kind of thing; he had nothing and became the king of rock 'n' roll. He was cool, which is a word I know that's used a lot, but that's what he was. Chris MacDonald will per- form his tribute to Elvis Pres- ley on Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre located at 1001 East Indiantown Road. Call (561) 743-2666 or 575- 2223 for more information. Visit www.chrismacdon- aldelvis.com for more infor- matiornon Mr MacDonald., "PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT IS IN YOUR HANDS"$ The Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of . Commerce will present "Protecting the Environment is in Your Hands" at the next Business at Lunch on Thursday, January 8. Learn about the Florida Power & Light Company renewable energy program, Sunshine Energy and how FPL incentives can pay for Business Sunshine Energy@. Take a lesson from The Berijamin School, the first FPL customer to reinvest its savings from participating in FPL's Business On Call@ program to purchase enough blocks 'of Sunshine Energy to offset a portion of its carbon footprint. Each block of 1,000 kWh of 100% Green-e certified renewable energy you purchase though Sunshine Energy plays ant important role in preventing C02 emissions nationwide; supporting renewable sources of energy, such as bioenergy and wind, across the country; and conserving non-renewable fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas. The Business at Lunch will be held at Embassy Suites Palm Beach Gardens. Registration begins at ll:30am and program begins at 12:00pm. To register for the Business at: Lunch, please visit www.npbchamber.com. For more information, please call 561.694.2300. J0I THE* CiHAMBER! 'Yteest ut r y Mr O b ess today andn V t i4: NETWORKING & BUSINESS CONTACT OPPORTUNITIES Monthly informative Business Before Hours breakfast programs Business After Hours social networking events Business Seminar Series MARKETING & BUSINESS EXPOSURE OPPORTUNITIES Advertising discounts with local media FLASH (member-to-member direct marketing) Special event sponsorship opportunities Advertising discounts with local media REWARDING COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Join Chamber committees, councils and special interest groups Representation on local community committees Formore irmatio n, r t aoin the Chmer, pe lease' . (061 ) 44 er T 4.6714 1 Business Before Hours When: Wednesday, January 16; Networking, 7:15 a.m.; program, 8:00 a.m. Where: Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa Cost: Members pre-registered, $15; Members at the door and future members, $25 Program: State of the County, presented by Commissioner Karen Mare dus Business After Hours When: Thursday, January 24; 5-7 p.m. Where: PGA National Resort & Spa Co-Sponsored by: The Honda Classic Cost: Members, $10; Future Members, $20 I Y(A