Parkes at Elvis Festival time is a very busy place, filled with hundreds/thousands in Elvis costumes and countless performances by Elvis impersonators, who prefer to be called "tribute artists". 

With accommodation at an absolute premium in Parkes and surrounds, we were pleased to discover that Railway Adventures, a company owned by TV personality Scott McGregor,  was planning to run its inaugural "Elvis Special" journey, so we jumped on board. We left Central a couple of hours after the well-known "Elvis Express".

Refurbished carriages from the old Southern Aurora that are now privately owned provided  our accommodation and most meals, and became our home for four days. Our forward journey used the southern route via Cootamundra and included a lunch-time concert by tribute artist Damian Mullin at the Centennial Winery at Bowral en route to the Festival. 

Once at Parkes, the train was stabled in a siding with the Main Stage in Cooke Park, only a couple of hundred metres away as we enjoyed three days at the Festival. And what a great time we and 25,000 others had!

All shows at Cooke Park are free, as they are in many other venues, while some signature concerts are ticketed. The atmosphere was great, with this year's Festival theme "Jailhouse Rock". In the traditional Festival Street Parade on the Saturday morning for over 45 minutes decorated floats and vintage cars, featuring countless costumed Elvis's and Miss Priscilla's, many in jailhouse apparel, sang and played Elvis songs. For a change of pace you could even play "Jailbird Croquet"!

We were amazed at the overall quality of the Elvis tribute artists, many of whom are world-renowned, such as Taylor Rodriguez and Cote Deonath. Given Elvis Presley's musical beginnings, the Sunday morning Elvis Gospel Service on the Main Stage is regarded as a key part of the Festival, with renowned tribute artist Gabe Phoenix and up-and-coming 15-year-old Charlie Gaylard performing brilliantly. Guest speakers including the Mayor, local clergy and ministry representatives and former inmates from the local Kairos Prison featured in the Service, very appropriate for the Festival's Jailhouse Rock theme.

We were on a high when our "Elvis Special" train rolled out of Parkes station around midday on Sunday, but the Elvis atmosphere well and truly remained in the lounge and dining cars on the train as we headed east through picturesque countryside towards the Blue Mountains, Central and home.

One of the best weekends of our lives. Make sure you get to at least one Parkes Elvis Festival in your lifetime using any means of transport and accommodation. If you don't enjoy the shows on the Main Stage in Cooke Park we will fully refund your entry fee. Please do go to the Festival- after all, "It's now or never."

By Heather and Gordon Bell