The blue suede shoes have been dusted off and partygoers are ready to shake, rattle and roll as the iconic Elvis Festival returns to Parkes.
The iconic event has been running since the early 1990s after some locals decided to celebrate the King's birthday in style.
But the major regional event has not been held for more than two years after the 2021 event was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The traditional January date for this year's festival, which is held to mark Elvis's birthday, also had to be postponed until this week because of coronavirus concerns during the planning stages.
Like the Elvis lyric, it caused organisers to feel a little "shook up" when the new dates clashed with the popular and also postponed Tamworth Country Music Festival, but strong ticket sales in the lead-up have eased concerns.
More than 200 events
The five-day rock 'n' roll bonanza has more than 200 events including lookalike competitions, tribute acts, a classic car parade and even an Elvis-themed gospel service on Sunday morning.
Darren Armstrong travelled from Sydney to defend his title as the best lookalike at the Parkes festival for four years running and to try his hand at the tribute act competition.
Tribute artist, Andy B, travelled all the way from Brisbane and said it was great to be back in Parkes.
"The vibe around town is just absolutely amazing … everywhere you look there are just smiles everywhere," he said.
Driving a Speedway theme
This year's theme was the movie, Speedway — one of the many movies that Elvis Presley starred in himself — with plenty of Cadillacs and muscle cars cruising through town in the spirit of the theme.
Organiser Tiffany Steele said the town was thrilled to have the country's premiere Elvis festival back in Parkes.
The festival brings more than $13 million to the local community and draws people from all over Australia and the world.
The marquee event this year is American Taylor Rodriguez, who was crowned the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist at Memphis during 2019.
