This year the 15th Parkes Elvis Presley Revival Festival was held over four days from January 11th to 14th, covering the weekend after Elvis's birthday.

The main features of the weekend were:

• meeting the Sydney to Parkes special train
• street parade
• Elvis look-alike, sing-alike and move-alike contests
• Priscilla look-alike contest
• tribute shows by world-class tribute artist Dean Vegas
• Guinness record attempt to have the highest number of Elvis impersonators gathered in one place
• marriage vows renewal ceremony
• gigs in various venues
• market stalls
• Elvis Gospel Celebration - interdenominational service on the Sunday morning

This was a friendly and fun festival, a bit of escapism from the harsh realities of the ongoing drought and current Australian politics. Enjoyment was had by all, despite the heat (the temperature reached 43 degrees C on one of the days).

The existing Guinness record was 78 impersonators. At the Festival, they clocked 147 impersonators all singing "Love Me Tender" for three minutes without a break. Guinness has to process and ratify the application, but it looks as though the record has been well and truly broken.

The theme of the Elvis Gospel Celebration was "A Thing Called Love". Gospel songs included "How Great Thou Art"; "Amazing Grace" and "Oh Happy Day", both sung by Lexi; and, "Sweet Sweet Spirit" sung by a quartet and cleverly introduced by Elvis on video. The gospel song with the theme title was sung by Dean Vegas.

Considering Elvis recorded over 700 songs, it's a pity that a wider range wasn't sung over the Festival. How many times do you want to hear "Return to Sender" over one weekend? For example, I heard "Burning Love", "C. C. Rider", "Polk Salad Annie", "Johnnie B. Goode", "Kentucky Rain", "In The Ghetto" and "American Trilogy" several times, "I've Never Been to Spain", "Steamroller Blues" and "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain" once only, but "Moody Blue", "Fairytale", "True Love Travels On A Gravel Road" and "Long Black Limousine" (to name a few) not at all.

For media coverage of the Festival, go to Presleys in the Press.

--Susan