Holden Driving Team Special Vehicles owner Peter Champion with the VE-VC 30th anniversary vehicle that will be on show at the Speedway Exhibition. He will be at the exhibition to talk about the launch of the Blue Meanie Trilogy.

Car enthusiasts cannot afford to miss this year’s Speedway Exhibition at the Parkes Elvis Festival featuring 40 iconic and prestigious cars at the former Broderick’s car yard in Clarinda Street.

Inspired by this year’s Speedway theme, a diverse blend of unique cars have been brought together for the first time ever. Sharing the showroom floor will be a rare collection of Holden Dealer Team (HDT) special vehicles, special Commodore builds, the Anniversary Edition Commodores together with group A cars and a 1980 Peter Brock Marlborough Holden Dealer Team race car.

The exhibition will also see the official unveiling of the 2015VF “Blue Meanies” in sedan, wagon and ute configuration based on the 1985 HDT VK Commodore SS Group A ‘Blue Meanie’ released by Peter Brock and the HDT.

The range racing cars will include the 1977 Brian Burt and 1978 Everlast Ford XC Coupes, an Alan Moffat Tribute Ford Mustang and Peter O Donnell’s BMW 335i which has completed more laps of the famous Bathurst track than any other car.

The list also includes a Porsche 911 GT3, MK1 Ford GT40 and 1965 Shelby Cobra along with NASCARs and a range of speedway cars. As if that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, the feast of horsepower continues with a 327 HK Bathurst Monaro, a VL Walkenshaw Commodore and other powerful cars to get your motor revving.

To further enhance the racing experience, a state-of-the-art virtual reality racing car simulator, as used by professional drivers around the world, will get your adrenaline pumping as you try to be the King of the track.

The display will also include racing memorabilia such as bonnets from various racing cars, racing suits and a diverse selection of intriguing and fascinating collectables.

The Speedway Exhibition official launch at 11am on Wednesday, 20th April is open to everybody where you’ll hear from owner of Holden Driving Team Special Vehicles, Peter Champion who will share some thoughts on the cars and launch of the Blue Meanie Trilogy.

The HDT VC race car will also be on display at the Speedway Exhibition at this year’s Parkes Elvis Festival. The exhibition, to be held in the former Broderick’s car yard in Clarinda Street, is sponsored by the Bogan Gate Pub, and funded by the NSW Government. The exhibition will run from Wednesday, 20th April to Sunday, 24th April from 9am to 5pm with free entry. Everyone is invited to attend the official launch at 11am on Wednesday, 20th April where you’ll hear from owner of Holden Driving Team Special Vehicles, Peter Champion. He will share some thoughts on the cars and launch of the Blue Meanie Trilogy.

Maz Rees is excited to be playing the Forbes Town Hall pipe organ at the NSW Rural Women’s Gathering on 3rd April.

The NSW Rural Women’s Gathering is all about women in our community and Forbes resident Maz Rees has been added to the program to welcome attendees with a rousing performance on the beautiful Town Hall pipe organ.

Maz will be playing the organ on Sunday morning, 3rd April, and if you’ve never heard this organ being played, and love the sound of a pipe organ, this will be the perfect opportunity to experience this special instrument in all of its glory.

The organ was built in 1981 by Brown & Arkley in Northmead and was commissioned by former Forbes Shire Councillor and local business owner, Paul Coles. Paul provided a number of parts from his collection, including some of the metal pipes that were made in Germany.

The organ was constructed using mechanical action parts mostly made of wool. The casework was built from Amora, a South East Asian mahogany-like hardwood.

After its initial installation, the organ has moved location twice, with its final home now at Forbes Town Hall. The organ is located on a small raised platform allowing it to be moved within the Town Hall for special events.

There is still time to register for the NSW Rural Women’s Gathering until Monday, 28th March. The registration fee has been discounted and includes the Saturday Gathering, workshop options, gala dinner and Sunday Gathering. Alternatively, each event can also be booked separately if you can’t join for the whole weekend. Go to https://forbes2021nswruralwomensgathering.com/registration/

The Parkes Elvis Festival is back and on the lookout for volunteers to help make this year’s event a success.

Volunteering at the festival is open to people from all walks of life, and with different skills and experiences. There are many ways to volunteer, including setting up event spaces and signage, ushering guests, assisting with a multitude of events both inside and outdoors and transporting VIPs.

“The change of date along with impacts of Covid-19 have resulted in a need for new volunteers,” said Festival Director, Tiffany Steel. “We have more than 100 volunteer roles to fill. If you have specific interests, we can place you in a role where you can learn and get on-the-job experience whilst helping on one of the most popular festivals in Australia.” said Tiffany.

Employee volunteering programs are a great way for businesses to show their corporate social responsibility and provide employees with the opportunity to contribute to the community.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be involved with the sponsorship of the festival’s volunteer program,” said General Manager of Central West Credit Union Brett Hartin. “Volunteers are the life blood of regional areas, and this is a fantastic opportunity to give back to the community.”

In the spirit of Elvis, each volunteer will receive a t-shirt, hat, water bottle, bag and will get to have a whole lotta rockin’ and rollin’ fun. To apply visit www.parkeselvisfestival.com.au. Volunteer induction will be on Monday, 21st March from 6 to 7:30pm at the Cooke Park Pavilion.