In the spotlight

Yankee Homecoming Fashion Show Chairwoman Donna Kelly expects this year's event to be bigger and better than in past years, with a number of new additions to inject new life into the annual affair, including an Elvis sighting.

Added into the normal schedule of events are a number of new stores and models, including Mayor John Moak and Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins. Providing the music to the event will be DJ Eddie McGee, who brings with him an entire multimedia setup, with video screens and all. In between the show itself will be none other than the King of Rock & Roll himself, Elvis, who will perform a 30-minute set (as portrayed by 20-year-old Ricky Andrade of Amesbury).

Dinner will be provided from the Starboard Galley Restaurant, and desserts from Frederick's Pastries and Alden Merrill will be served. Once again, there will be raffles and a 50/50 and two separate cash prizes for the Most Creative and Most Originally decorated table. Admission is $25. Doors for the fashion show open at 6 tonight, followed by dinner at 7 p.m., and a 7:30 start to the show.

Honorable guest

In 1958 when Yankee Homecoming began, Chairman George Cashman hoped to spotlight Newburyport as the birthplace of the Coast Guard. Ever since, the Coast Guard has had a close relationship with Yankee Homecoming.

Yesterday, that tradition continued when Rear Adm. Timothy Sullivan came to the Newburyport Rotary Club weekly meeting, where he was given a Yankee Homecoming flag and a model of the first Coast Guard cutter, the Newburyport-built Massachusetts.

Did you know?

Rear Adm. Sullivan had planned to talk about the Coast Guard yesterday, but his love of nautical history led him to another aspect of Newburyport's past. In the early 1800s, he noted, the city's leading shipbuilders nurtured a young man from Nova Scotia named Donald McKay. McKay was branded as an English sympathizer by some, but his mentors in Newburyport remained loyal to him. They helped build his career. Years later, he moved to Boston, where his revolutionary ship designs resulted in some of the nation's most famous and fastest clipper ships, among them the Flying Cloud and Great Republic. McKay is buried in Newburyport, by the way.

Tiptoe through the Tombstones

Those who in past years enjoyed the annual Tombstone Tour of Oak Hill Cemetery with the late Todd Woodworth or his daughter, Ghlee, won't want to pass up the chance at a new tour, this one at Old Hill Burying Ground. Each tour is a walking history of Newburyport, from sea captains to movie stars.

The Old Hill tour leaves from Greenleaf Street at the entrance across from Barlet Mall tomorrow at 10 a.m. Admission is $2.

(Still) hunting for the hunt

Yesterday, the Scavenger Hunt was still missing. The event was to raise money for the final phase of the courtyard project at the Nock Middle School.