PHILLIPS — The 2018 Old Home Days is coming to Phillips next weekend for the 60th consecutive year. In keeping with this year’s theme, Rock N’ Roll is Here to Stay, there are two brand new events on tap.

First, on Thursday, Aug. 16, Elvis will be performing at the Phillips Area Community Center PACC on Depot Street. OK, so it won’t really be THE Elvis, King of Rock N’ Roll. However, word has it that Don Boudreau might be the next best thing. Note that the performance just happens to fall on the anniversary of Elvis’s death in 1977.

Boudreau, billed as EP Rock, is well-known for his popular rendition of The King. He is a solo Elvis Tribute Artist from Sidney.

His performances have been extremely well-received all over this state as well as in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and in Canada. An experienced guitarist, he has recorded over 250 of Elvis’s songs. He is also a teacher and a past music director of contemporary praise groups.

According to his bio on the Elvis Presley Impersonators website, Boudreau has been a big fan of Elvis from his youth. He performs The King’s music from all eras, 50s through 70s, and all genres, including his early rockabilly years and his gospel recordings.

Boudreau is also a regular competitor at many of the most prestigious Elvis Tribute Competitions in the Northeast. He recently took the first place award at the Lake George, NY Elvis Festival and received recognition at Reflections of the King.

Curtains go up on this much-anticipated performance at 7 p.m. There is no admission fee, but donations will be gratefully appreciated and will go towards funding activities for next year’s festivities.

The second first-time event happens on Saturday night, Aug. 18. Also at PACC, The Phillips Chamber of Commerce Sock Hop is for adults (age 18 and over) only. Live DJ D-James will be spinning the platters. President of the Chamber, Tami Bredeau says the DJ, aka James Burdin, is “so excited” about this gig.

In a conversation on FaceBook, D-James confirmed that he is indeed “very excited” about DJ-ing for the Sock Hop. He says, “Music has been a part of me for a very long time. I hope this whole night will be memorable, that the people will enjoy the music and have a great time.”

In an expression of thanks to Tami Bredeau and the Phillips Chamber of Commerce for hiring him, he added, “I am honored to be a part of the event. (Participating in events like this) makes me feel like I am making a difference and helping to create memories.”

He added, “I hope the people are excited, not just for the music, but by the dancing also.”

Mrs. Bredeau seconded this sentiment. She is hoping that the event will be such a success that folks will want to continue it as an annual part of the OHD festivities.

As with the Elvis performance on Thursday, there is no admission fee, but donations will be gladly accepted.

Mrs. Bredeau also expressed her personal thanks and the appreciation of the Chamber of Commerce to all “the faithful few who help with the organization of this celebration and those who run all the traditional events every year.”

“We’re always looking for more volunteers to help and more people to take on individual events.”

On that note, she was pleased to announce that the Bean Hole Bean/Chicken BBQ, which was cancelled last year because there was no one to cook the beans, is back on this year. Trisha Burdin has taken on the task. She’ll be following the directions of her brother, Gary Beedy, but has never actually done this before. Kudos to you, Trisha, for stepping up!

The 2018 Honored Couple is Pam and Dick Matthews. Dick and Pam have embraced their adopted community of Phillips since moving here nearly a decade ago. Originally from the midwest, the couple has lived in various states around the country, moving with family and job changes, before retiring in Phillips to be closer to their grandchildren.

The Matthews share a belief that community must be built by the people who live there and love their town. They have acted on that belief during their time in Phillips. Early on, they were part of the Revitalization Committee started by the selectmen, holding public discussions about ways to breathe new life into the town. From this committee, the Phillips Farmers’ Market and the Sandy River Business Association were born.

Work started on getting new sidewalks in town and bringing cell coverage to the area. Pam and Dick have been an integral part of bringing more music to the Phillips Area Community Center, getting grants to fix up the building, which served as the machine shop for the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad in one of its previous lives, and maintain the space for community events.

With their past community theater experience, they created the Phillips Follies Variety Show. They play Seward and Shua Dill for Ambleside living history groups, and, most recently, Pam has become Fly Rod Crosby for Fly Rod Crosby Days.

Dick’s past life as a teacher of English, journalist, newspaper owner, and editor of a national magazine led him to start the local newsletter, The Vitalizer, which brings news of the happenings around Phillips to more than 300 e-mail subscribers. Print editions are also available at area businesses.

Earlier, Dick published a book, Notes from an Innkeeper’s Journal, about his and Pam’s experiences as owners and operators of The Hummingbird Inn in Virginia.

At their first Phillips town meeting, Dick met Penelope Diebold, who asked him to help her get her father’s book about WWII published. After working on the manuscript for a year, Dick found her an agent and got the story of Bill Diebold’s exploits in Burma published as Hell is So Green.

When the couple first moved to Philips, Dick wrote a column for the Franklin Journal called “Settling on the Sandy”.

More recently, Pam also wrote a column for the Journal, called “Hometown Heroes”, which gave her the chance to meet many local people. Over the years, Pam has launched several small businesses, including a travel agency she called Vagabond Journeys.

After her life as a medical office manager and then an innkeeper, she has jumped on the publishing bandwagon with a children’s book called Fly Rod Crosby, Champion of Maine, based on the life of one of Phillips’ most famous residents.

The Class of 1968 is this year’s 50-year class from Phillips High School. Members are Pamela Johnstone Allen, Geraldine Wilkins Campbell, Ruth Mitchell Cushman, Julia Haines Davenport, Jeffrey L. Dunham, Nathan W. Ellis, Joyce Storer Giguere, Warren F. Harnden, Naomi Plog Henderson, Eric A. Kinney, Nathan Lendall Lake*, Kathleen Stevens Lambert, Sandra Luce Noyes, Philip H. Reed, Jr., Freemont Ross, Wanda Berry Rollins, Phyllis Riendeau Savage, Douglas V. Scribner, Dereen Bangs Storer, Colin Scott Therrien, Everett A. Wilcox*, Constance June Wing*. (* indicates deceased)

Fliers with details about all the events from Saturday, Aug. 11 to Sunday, Aug. 19 are available at many area businesses. Along with thanks to the those businesses which have contributed to this year’s celebration, please note the following plea from the Chamber:

The Phillips Area Chamber of Commerce is looking for volunteers and/or contributors to keep Old Home Days going. If you are interested in helping in any way, please contact our Chamber Vice President, Dina Goodwin at 639-1011.

D-James poses with some of his earlier equipment at a previous event. In the FaceBook conversation, he pointed out that he now owns a new Gemini unit. (photo taken with permission from D-James Dj Service FaceBook page)

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