This year’s Anzac Day celebrations in Parkes might turn out to be one of the biggest ever with many Parkes Elvis Festival visitors asking to be part of the day.

The Elvis Festival ends on Sunday, the day before Anzac Day and the Parkes Sub Branch secretary Paul Thomas said: “We have received a lot of requests from visitors who wish to participate in the March and other festivities.”

He said the traditional selling of badges and memorabilia in the main street leading up to Anzac Day would not take place, but instead the Sub Branch would be setting up a stall in Cooke Park to sell its memorabilia and Anzac Biscuits.

The special guest of honour on the day is Major General J. Paul Stevens AO (Rtd)., and state member Phil Donato MP will also be in attendance.

In Parkes the Anzac Day celebrations will commence with the Dawn Service at 5:30am at Memorial Hill.

Parking at Memorial Hill is limited to Returned Service personnel and holders of In- Capacitated Entitlement Cards.

Parkes Services Club will host a free breakfast at 6:30am for personnel with tickets, while both the Anglican and Catholic churches will conduct special Anzac Day services at 7:30am.

The traditional Anzac Day March starts at 8:20 in front of the Parkes Services Club and it is anticipated that Major General Paul Stevens AO will receive the Salute during the march.

The Mayor of Parkes Ken Keith OAM will commence proceedings at the Commemorative Service with the official welcome. The Parkes Shire Concert Band will provide entertainment and they will support the Parkes Christian School choir.

The captains of the Parkes East Public School Patrick McPherson and Kasey Morgan and Parkes High Schools Captains Charlie Denham-Lowe and Amanda Lowe will do the Address by Modern Youth.

At approximately 10:45am a Wreath Laying Pilgrimage to the Parkes Cemetery War Graves Section will take place.

The Official Anzac Day luncheon will follow the Cooke Park Commemorative Celebration at 12 midday.

Concluding the day’s activities will be the sounding of Retreat at the Cooke Park Cenotaph at 5pm.

Anzac Day celebrations in the rest of the Parkes Shire:

Alectown Dawn Service at 6am; Tullamore Commemorative Service at 10:30am; Bogan Gate Dawn Service at 6am followed by a breakfast; Trundle March “Fall In” at Trundle Central School at 10:30am; Peak Hill Dawn Service at 6am at the AIF Gates then an Anzac Day March at 10:30am.

This year’s Anzac Day national service will once again be held at the Australian War Memorial and broadcast nationally.

Australians are encouraged to stand up this Anzac Day to honour all service personnel, past and present. How you honour and remember those who are serving and those who have served is up to you. Take time to reflect on Anzac Day in a way that means the most to you.

The Elvis community in Parkes lost two of its biggest supporters and hardest workers when Debby Lennox passed away on 29th July 2021 and John Job on 15th January, 2020.

Debby and her partner Steve (Elvis) have been an integral part of the festival from day one. Debby was the president of Elvis Revival Inc (ERI – Elvis Festival volunteer committee), at the time of her passing, a committee she served for more than 25 years.

“Debby loved the Parkes Elvis Festival and enjoyed it so much,” said Steve. They shared a passion and love for Elvis Presley, and one of Debby’s many jobs was to always be there for Steve and help him open his private Elvis collection during the festival.

“Deb was a tireless volunteer worker who devoted hour upon hour of her time across many, many years in her efforts in raising funds for the Parkes Elvis Festival,” said fellow committee member Lorraine Job.

Debby’s many virtues included being a talented seamstress, which she used to sew beautiful Elvis jumpsuits. She also sold thousands of raffle tickets to raise funds for the festival, had an amazing talent to remain positive and gifted so much time to others.

John worked continuously and tirelessly as a volunteer at Elvis Central, Renewal of Vows Ceremony, Elvis Poets Breakfast and the Elvis Street Parade for over 16 years. He was his partner Lorraine’s steadfast supporter at all these events as she served on the ERI committee. He never hesitated to put in countless hours while still continuing his everyday jobs.

John was a hard-working, kind, caring and lovely man who never complained, always smiled and happy to help anyone wherever he possibly could.

John was always there to assist Lorraine, and as she was doing work for the festival this year, his absence was acutely poignant.

“Never wait for tomorrow, what if tomorrow never comes?” – Elvis Presley

It pretty much feels like the last Parkes Elvis Festival took place in another world. In many respects it was a very different world in January 2020. We were still battling the grip of the terrible drought when the bushfires broke our hearts causing unfathomable devastation. At the time we could not have imagined anything worse…

While there are still lots to keep us awake at night, we owe it to ourselves to celebrate some wins: our countryside is looking spectacular again, we’ve come through several lockdowns and we can travel and attend events again!

The Parkes Elvis Festival has always been known for its uplifting vibe and friendliness, and this year more than ever we all need an infinite dose of that special feel-good vibe to fill up our souls with hope, enjoyment, fun and kindness that will put that zest for life back in our step.

We hope your time here will inspire you to make the most of every day and that you will go back to your respective communities feeling inspired to spread some kindness and good will. May the 29th festival be an unforgettable one, not just because of its change of date, but also for the experience.

A huge thank you to our sales managers Roxane Manley and Jordana Freney for all their hard work to make this Elvis issue the biggest one yet!

Let’s rock ‘n roll!

Maggi Barnard

The Henry Parkes Museum received a very special donation recently that will be its feature display this Parkes Elvis Festival in memory of the first tribute artist to perform at the inaugural Parkes Elvis Festival.

Eddie Youngblood, who suddenly passed away on 1st March 2021, returned for two more festivals and his dying wish was that his Elvis costume collection and items be donated to Parkes.

Last month Eddie’s partner of 34 years, singer and dancer Michelle Youngblood, arrived in Parkes with a car load of precious items. The collection includes the famous eagle suit. “Eddie was the very first Australian to have the eagle suit made for him by Gene Doucette of B & K Enterprises Costume Co,” said Michelle. She also donated his blue owl suit, which was specifically made for Eddie.

Another very precious item is a drum skin and drum sticks signed by DJ Fontana, who played the drums for Elvis for 14 years. DJ toured with Eddie for six weeks in Australia.

The donation also includes his ’68 Comeback Special leather outfit, two jackets, a 50s microphone, three LP records, his MO Awards, photos and some of his sheet music.

Eddie was born in the Victorian coastal town of Apollo Bay in 1956. After his family moved around Victoria for several years, they went to Townsville in Queensland. He got his first taste of showbiz when he entered a high school talent quest and won the audience prize of $10.

He served his apprenticeship in talent quests and went on to create a tribute show around the music of his idol, Elvis Presley. ‘The Golden Years of Elvis’ and ‘Idolz in Concert’ became massive hits in clubs and casinos around the country. Eddie was revered by his peers as one of the first and most successful tribute acts, long before the phenomena it became decades later.

Eddie was awarded ‘Best Variety Production Show’ for two consecutive years in the 1984 and 1985 MO Awards.

In 1983/4 he starred in the original Australian production of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ in the role of Pharaoh with Angela Ayers and Daryl Cotton.

He became a regular performer on most Australian variety entertainment television show in the 80s and 90s. In 1991 he starred in the pre-game entertainment at the NRL Grand Final at the Sydney Football Stadium with a television audience of 45,000.

In 2003 Eddie took on the role of marketing and entertainment manager at Club Forster where he worked until his death. The auditorium at the club was renamed in honour of Eddie last year.

When asked about the secret of being a successful ETA, Eddie said: “I’ve always said it’s the passion, dedication, hard work and understanding that you are yourself not anyone else. It’s your heart, soul and respect of the music and the man that makes you sincere and genuine in the eyes of your audience.”