For five days in April this year, the small town of Parkes in Australia was brimming with Elvis Presley impersonators and fans who had congregated to celebrate the musical legacy of the singer and actor.
The Parkes Elvis Festival saw over 200 Elvis related events across Parkes, which is 357 kilometres west of Sydney. The theme for this year’s celebrations was the actor-singer’s 1968 musical film, Speedway.
Every year in Australia, Elvis fans from around the world come together at Parkes. The festival is usually held in the second week of January so that the dates coincide with the birthday of the rock and roll legend on January 8. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the festival was cancelled in 2021 and this year, it was held between April 20 to April 24.
#DYK Elvis Presley was 26 when our #Parkes radio telescope, #Murriyang, was opened in 1961? Both are icons and both were the stars of this year’s Parkes Elvis Festival. Image: Taylor Rodriguez, the reigning International Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Champion by John Sarkissian pic.twitter.com/8bH7TZasaF
— CSIRO_ATNF (@CSIRO_ATNF) May 1, 2022
On the lighter side, Australia recently celebrated ‘Elvis’ at the Parkes Festival in the Sydney area. “The King of Rock ‘n Roll” has long been popular in the Land Down Under. Never knew that! This festival was sidelined for a while but returned. Awesome seeing people have fun! pic.twitter.com/TeAoLm47if
— Inspiration by John 🌻 (@LifeWithJohn) April 26, 2022
Parkes, Australia
An Elvis impersonator before the North Parkes Mines street parade. The Parkes Elvis Festival is held annually over five days. See more herePhotograph: Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images pic.twitter.com/Ih65OiLQNz
— Abdulsatar Bochnak (@AbdulsatarBoch1) April 25, 2022
Elvis Presley impersonators chat while boarding a train at Sydney Central Railway Station before departing for the Parkes Elvis Festival, in Sydney, Australia. More photos of the week: https://t.co/BG19AORJL9 📷 Loren Elliott pic.twitter.com/KNpomh6Oao
— Reuters Pictures (@reuterspictures) April 24, 2022
Parkes Elvis Festival 2022. pic.twitter.com/ysBC4XCY7m
— Annette Murray (@Nekki1972Murray) April 23, 2022
Surprised how many people wanted to buy dead Elvis from this past week.
Next festival we’ll be looking for these to stock! #elvisFest #parkesElvisFestival pic.twitter.com/ZlDbHQBnno— Candy J (@LiveLrnExplore) April 27, 2022
ICYMI: Thousands flocked to the streets of Parkes, a regional Australian town, to celebrate the life and music of late musician Elvis Presley. ‘It’s just amazing stuff all around, just bringing people together to remember him,’ said Victor Dunstan, a first-time festival attendee pic.twitter.com/JJqp0I9nNs
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 30, 2022
Talking about the event, Kristy Berry, a local business owner at Parkes, told Reuters, “We have missed it. Not only business-wise, but we’ve missed the people, we’ve missed the fun, we’ve missed the music.”
The festival, which first began in 1993 with just 300 attendees, has now become a global event. According to the official website of the Parkes Elvis Festival, it is “recognised as one of the top three Festivals and Events in Australia, the Festival attracts 24,000 fans with a global reach of more than 400 million.”
As per estimates by ABC News, the few days of the festival contribute over a million dollars to the local economy of Parkes.
