Elvis comes alive again Down Under

Big-haired and hip-gyrating impersonators of the singer descend on a small town in Australia for an extravagant five-day celebration.

Elvis impersonators attend the annual Parkes Elvis Festival Jan 9, 2009.

PARKES, AUSTRALIA // An army of bright-suited, big-haired and hip gyrating Elvis Presley impersonators descended on the small outback town of Parkes in Australia last week for the country's largest festival dedicated to the King of Rock 'n' Roll. The population of this unassuming corner of New South Wales almost doubled as 10,000 fans paid homage at an extravagant five-day event that featured an Elvis-inspired gospel church service, lawn bowls and poetry readings as well as sound-a-like competitions, tall hair contests, concerts and a giant street parade. "It's like I can feel Elvis channelling through me right now. He's moving right through my fingers," said one impersonator, Nathan Laird, his head covered by a synthetic black wig and his eyes shielded from the late afternoon glare by aviator-style sunglasses. A gentle breeze ruffled a dazzling red cape that covered a tight polyester jumpsuit. "It's just Elvis, Elvis all the time. Parkes is a very, very special occasion." A packed Elvis Express ferried hundreds of devotees by rail from Sydney, 360km to the east, while others have travelled from Britain and North America. So many people had crammed into the station to welcome the train that there was barely room for the new costume-clad arrivals to disembark. In true rock star tradition, the service was fashionably late. A stroll down Clarinda Street, the main thoroughfare in Parkes, revealed just how much the carnival courses through the veins of this small rural community. Paper ball and chains celebrating the Presley hit Jailhouse Rock decorated the windows of banks, while restaurants offered diners a Love Me Tender course of crumbed deep sea fish fillets. Married couples had the chance to renew their wedding vows before an Elvis celebrant. Outside a discount department store, Pete Hayden, 53, was busy belting out renditions of the cultural icon's most popular tracks, the veteran impersonator's rich tones competing against those of a fellow crooner on the other side of the road as a group of young women dressed as the singer's wife, Priscilla, wandered past eating ice cream. "I just get out there and give the people what they want to hear," said Mr Hayden, his long, dyed hair matted on to his forehead from the afternoon heat. "People say I sound so much like Elvis that I should do it full time, but I don't. I do it as a hobby. It goes down well and it keeps me happy. "I've liked Elvis ever since I was a kid. There's just something fascinating about the guy, his looks and his charm. It was shame he died at the age of 42." The carnival in Parkes has been a magnet for both amateur and professional singers, including Jacqueline, a female tribute artist known as "She is the King", who has performed in Memphis and Las Vegas. "There isn't another person or group, including the Beatles, on the face of the earth that draws this kind of commemoration," Jacqueline said. "It is a phenomenon, but if he was alive he'd be mystified, he'd be surprised and to have a festival here in Australia makes me so proud." The annual tribute in Parkes started in 1993. Anne Steele, who founded the event with her husband, Bob, said it grew out of an idea to boost the local economy during the traditionally slow post-Christmas period. "We owned a restaurant called Gracelands [the name of Elvis' mansion in Memphis, Tennessee] and January is very, very hot in Parkes and business is very slow," Mrs Steele said. "All the people who had any money had gone north or south on holidays and those that were left here were here because they hadn't got any money and so the motels and shops were very quiet and we thought it may just bring a little business to the town for a weekend." The celebration generates about AU$3.5 million (Dh8.7m). The mayor of Parkes, Ken Keith, said he believes the enchanting appeal of Elvis Presley shows no sign of fading. "He had a presence and that presence has lived on and people still embrace him. What we're finding is that the younger generation is now taking up the Elvis theme, really getting involved in the festival and just having a wonderful time because that rock 'n' roll era was all about good fun, enjoying life and I think people are looking for that today," said Mr Keith, who is almost certainly Australia's only Elvis-impersonating mayor. Had Presley not succumbed to the ruinous excesses of fortune and fame he would have celebrated his 74th birthday last Thursday. He died in 1977. His enduring allure has given legions of ordinary Australians, from suburban accountants to painters and plumbers, the opportunity to bask in his reflected glory and in Parkes the look-a-likes are treated like stars that shine as brightly as their sequins and fake gems. "We're famous for five days of our lives,' said Gerard Hansen, an impersonator from Sydney. "It is truly a magical time." [e-mail]