Sophie (10) recounts her visit with her Festival Australia Family to the Parkes Elvis Festival in 2012
From 11th - 15th January 2012, we paid a visit to Parkes (in Central NSW) for their famous Elvis Festival, where 14000 people gathered to honour the King of Rock, Elvis Presley.
We arrived early in the festival, so we could set up the tents at the Parkes Showground, and I’m glad we did because during the next few days the campsite became packed.
On the evening of our arrival, the Elvis Trots took place on the race track. The Elvis trots is a horse racing event just like any other, apart from the fact that some of jockeys where dressed like Elvis. My siblings and I enjoyed estimating who would win, then changing our guess, then changing it again just before the horses crossed the finish line .
We rose at 6am the next day to attend ‘A Poets Breakfast’ which was an excellent event where the competition participants delivered their own ballads and poems to the topic ‘Elvis Presley-Follow That Dream’.
I particularly enjoyed the poems Titled ‘When I dreamed Elvis’ and ‘Mr 50%’, which explains my feelings when those particular poems gained first and second place!
The main event on Friday was the Elvis train where 70 people arrived with their suitcases and dressed as Elvis or Priscilla Presley.
For us, Saturday began with an excellent show put on by the dance students of Parkes. My favourite number was Hairspray.
But the big event of the day was the Parade. With a good mixture of cars, motorbikes and pedestrians dressed as Mr and Mrs Presley, the parade was certainly a highlight of the festival.
All-in-all the Elvis festival is a perfect festival for all Elvis fans, but hold on to your hair, you don’t want to be over Elvised!
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