Oceanside Care Center hosts Elvis for a performance

Posted Wednesday, October 25, 2017 11:42 am

Oceanside native and Merrick resident Brian Enoch performed his Elvis Presley impersonation for dozens of Oceanside Care Center residents on Oct. 11. He and his wife Lina work together on the acts.

Peter Belfiore/Herald

Center volunteer Selma Bryman, 88, with Enoch. His performances have become somewhat of a tradition for the residents. “They love it!” Theresa Azzaretto, the center’s director of recreation said.

Peter Belfiore/Herald

The Oceanside Care Center is a short and long-term rehab and nursing center located off of Atlantic Avenue.

Peter Belfiore/Herald

By Peter Belfiore

Oceanside native and Merrick resident Brian Enoch finished hooking up his mic and slipped into the back while his wife Lina continued adjusting the levels on their mixer.

“Wait until you see him,” the director of recreation at the Oceanside Care Center, Theresa Azzaretto, said excitedly. “ … I’ve never seen an impersonator like this, and he’s so good with the residents.”

When he emerged, Enoch was no longer an average man, but the king of rock and roll. A part-time Elvis Presley impersonator, he returned to the rehab and nursing center on Oct. 11 after being invited back. He had been visiting for a few years, he said, after Azzaretto discovered him through a Google search.

Many of the center’s residents clapped, some sang along and others just bobbed their heads to the classic tunes, as Enoch’s hips swayed in the king’s iconic fashion. They appeared to like the performance.

“Like it?” Azzaretto asked. “Oh my God, they love it!”

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