Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Elvis never left the building.
With his pompadour curl and bejewelled jumpsuit, he is cooking bacon and eggs, getting a coffee, checking his texts, driving a hot rod and rollerskating.
Hand-in-hand with Priscilla, Elvis is taking a break at a truck stop on the edge of the Goobang National Park in rural NSW.
He is also outside the Royal Hotel waiting for a cold one before midday.
Elvii – the affectionate plural for Elvis lookalikes – were on every street, every corner, in every pub and cafe for the biggest day of the Parkes Elvis Festival, in central NSW, on Saturday.
A crowd of thousands filled the main street for a parade, diesel fumes in the air as hot rods, classic cars and even a chugging tractor formed a cavalcade dedicated to the king.
On a weekday, Elvis might be spotted trimming a hedge, mowing a lawn or laying pavers in Parkes.
Local landscaper Dooley Thomson was the picture of Presley at the parade, wearing a turquoise and gold satin flared suit covered in plastic diamonds.
He dresses as Elvis at the festival every year and also brings a little razzle dazzle to his profession, with the catchphrase Keep on Dancin’ displayed on his work ute in bubblegum pink.
“Dancing helps keep you feel alive,” Mr Thomson told AAP, gold aviator sunglasses firmly in place.
“It just makes you feel 100,000 times better, so if you’re having a bad day jam some music on and dance.”
The festival has been shaking things up in Parkes for more than three decades, having been founded to draw visitors to the farming town during a usually quiet – and hot – season.
It can attract more than 20,000 people, almost doubling the population, and injects more than $11 million into the local economy.
Mr Thomson said the festival was an immense source of pride.
“The amount of money and the influx of people that it brings to town is pretty unbelievable,” he said.
An Elvis-themed highland marching band thrummed down Clarinda Street, along with swing dancers and two Elvis lookalikes in the throes of being abducted by inflatable aliens.
Marking what would have been the king’s 90th birthday, Sydney couple John Mineeff and Annette Treloar carried a first aid kit and an IV drip filled with Pepsi in order to keep Elvis alive.
While Presley would have been coming up on his centenary, a tribute artist known as Jay Elvis has not even marked a decade.
The nine-year-old from the NSW central coast has been holding court outside the Roasted Kombi cafe, crooning Elvis and Neil Diamond tunes as crowds sip their cappuccinos.
“His pop and I love listening to Elvis, so he’s been brought up hearing it,” Jay Elvis’s grandmother Rochelle McDonnell told AAP.
“He just loves Elvis and his energy.”
