Today is the 32nd anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. And perhaps the Hawai'i fan who recalls that fateful day most is Lovelyline Kwock, who works at Kuhio Elementary. A newlywed of just 10 days, Kwock was working at Everybody's Supermarket (long gone now) when she got a phone call about his death. "It broke my heart to hear the sad news," she said. "I fainted. Whoever was around me rescued me and called my husband; I cried and cried, that's all I remember. My love is gone. I have nothing."

She survives because of "many proud and happy memories of Elvis Presley. I still have all of my collections since 1955 (her home is a mini-museum of The King), in boxes, on the walls, trunks; picture frames all over the coffee table and on shelves. Everything and anything (Elvis)."

Among her prizes: a scarf Presley handed off when she gave him a lei.

Today, she'll place a lei on the Presley statue at Blaisdell Center, where The King gave his historic "Aloha From Hawaii" concert beamed to the world in 1973. ...

BEYOND THE REEF: Milton Lau, who is presenting the Slack Key Festival today at Kapi'olani Park Bandstand, continues to see the growth of ki ho'alu beyond our shores. "Slack-key guitar, nearly 180 years old and indigenous to Hawai'i, continues to grow because it is quite different from other genres of music, and it strikes an emotional chord ... it becomes addictive because of its soothing and calming elements." ... Lau and son Chris have been a pivotal combo that record slack-key projects. Expect a parade of CDs from their Kahoku Productions camp, including The Hawaiian Slack Key Kings' "Ekolu," LT Smooth's "Breezin'," Paul Togioka's "Slack Key — Kaua'i Style," Ledward Kaapana's "Slackin' Off" and projects by David Kahiapo, Dwight Kanae and Keale. ...

AT THE HELM: The air conditioning conked out before Raiatea Helm's invitational bash at the Hawai'i Theatre — marking her 25th birthday and filmed for a future DVD release — but happily, one of her Japan sponsors had fans in a freebie bag for all guests, helping to minimize discomfort.

Helm, assembling guests like singer-guitarist Keola Beamer, dancer Peter Rockford Espiritu and aerialist Andrea Torres, staged a show that will look better on DVD than in person, since techie placements were distracting. Helm has evolved into quite the singer, with a gamut of styles beyond Hawaiian, like jazz and pop — in the Fleetwood Mac genre, thanks to her recent endeavors with Mick Fleetwood — and she was ably supported by the DeShannon Higa Jazz Ensemble, augmented by Kit Ebersbach and Lopaka Colon of Don Tiki.

Downside: The show lacked a written script, which would have brought Helm up to the next level. For instance, "Alika," her tribute to Auntie Genoa Keawe, should have been a falsetto centerpiece instead of a hana hou add-on, and her salute to uncle George Helm should have been magnified with personal reflection. "How you guys doing tonight?" — the usual ad lib — typified between-song "dialogue." Documentarian Kenneth Martinez Burgmaier has his work cut out. ...

CALENDAR CUES: Hapa (Barry Flanagan, Nathan Aweau) will perform at a Hawaiian dinner buffet on the Kahala O Ke Kai Lawn of the Kahala Resort in celebration of Hawai'i's 50th anniversary of statehood from 5:30 p.m. Friday. Malia Peterson will hula. Cost is $50; call 739-8760. ...

And that's Show Biz. ...

Reach Wayne Harada at 266-0926. Read his blog in Friday's TGIF section and also at http://showandtellhawaii.honadvblogs.com.