Sorry but this blog will be quite large as I know you all want to see plenty of photos. We were actually lucky to even get to Forbes. At Narrandera when we were in Woolworths, Deb dropped some coins on the floor and had to chase one down that was rolling out the door, as she stomped on it and then bent over to pick it up, she headbutted the huge fire hose reel on the wall. She saw stars, and blood was expected, but she just toughed it out and picked up the coin. All that for 5 cents. Life is tough for a retiree.
The town of Forbes is a lovely little town with a lake in the centre of the town. They have a replica warplane and piece of artillery protecting the town, just near the lake. It is a very well kept and clean area, with a walking/cycling track around the town. Heaps of well preserved buildings, with a very impressive town hall.
We bought tickets for the bus and headed up to Parkes alias Graceland, on Thursday morning. The first thing that we came across was a couple of Elvis lookalikes strolling down the main street. The sound of Elvis songs could be heard as soon as we got off the bus. Deb couldn't resist posing with the Viva Las Vegas Dancing Troupe, with a formal offer of employment no doubt to arrive in the mail soon.
Our first lap of the street is to just suck in the atmosphere. Even though it was only Thursday, there were already quite a few Elvis lookalikes and buskers on the corners. It is just great to see the amount of trouble some of these people go to. Cooke Park is the location of the main stage, with performers rotating through on a regular basis. There is a huge shaded area for the general public, with all performances being free to attend.
We listened to a very good Elvis performer for a while, before heading back to the main street, to seek out a coffee, of course. We came across 3 Elvis performers strolling down the street, and Deb was just hanging out to have a photo taken with them. It turned out that they were 3 generations of the one family, grandfather, father and son. They were really good blokes and very obliging with the photos. We came across them further down the street at their busking site and they put on a really good show.
Some of the buskers were really great, but, of course, a couple had questionable Elvis ability. The atmosphere is great, with all of the dress up Elvises being very photo friendly. There are lots of awesome looking cars on display, with an old army type jeep seen driving down the main street. I am sure the driver, who was dressed in an old army uniform, would have been 80y.o. at least.
We went into the leagues club and signed up for a one week membership, for the cost of a gold coin. In the club they had Elvis performers on stage from midday until about 8pm, with entry being free. They also had several late night shows, with professional Elvis imitators, but these were paid shows ranging from $40 to $75 a head. It was incredible, but whilst sitting in the Leagues club, we were approached by friends from Cranbourne. Such a small world.
After a long day we headed over to the railway station, along with thousands of others, bloody tourists. The Elvis Express, a train that runs from Sydney, was due to arrive at about 4pm. It is booked out a year in advance, and carries several hundred Elvis fans, performers, dress ups and buskers. It is one of the highlights of the festival.
Of course, being unable to get a good photo location on the platform, I headed up onto the railway bridge. The heat was extreme, and I was baking, but in order to give you a good view of the platform and the train, I just toughed it out. I know, what a hero.
After the train arrived I think I crawled into the bus, badly in need of some water. Never to let an opportunity pass, I saw a golden Elvis standing outside the bus. Always prepared for your viewing pleasure. Then it was back to the caravan to recover from what had, at that stage, been the hottest day I had been out in for a while. Little did I know.
We decided to drive back on the Friday, and try our luck at getting a park. The weather forecast was pretty grim, being 43C, but what do they know.
We arrived just before 11 and I even got a car park only about 500 metres from the main street and headed into Cooke park. The weather was pretty ominous, with the jeep saying it was already 37C. Our first view was one of the Elvis buskers that brings his own Las Vegas Show girls with him. How awesome is that. We watched a couple of the free shows in Cooke Park, in the shade, and then decided to head up the street.
I got lots of photos of dress ups and of course, another photo of the Show girls. It is definitely a party atmosphere up here, with girls on stilts, buskers, muscle cars on display and some really old classic caravans. One of the oldest buskers has been coming to the festival since day one, 25 years ago, and he has a really great Elvis voice. There are lots of mini elvisses and we even came across Marilyn Monroe singing on stage, complete with dancing girls, of course.
The Festival would not be complete without its own detachment of California Highway Patrol officers, complete with their Harleys.
We walked back down to Cooke Park and stood under the water misting fans, but to no avail. 44C was just too hot for anything. One incredible thing we did see was a group of people, obviously mentally challenged, dancing rock and roll in front of the stage. Don't they realise how bloody hot it is. Even the performer is melting.
We strolled over to the Services club, but alas, it was also packed out, so we decided to call it a day. We had been there nearly 3 hours, but the temperature was just stifling. Believe it or not, we even got in the pool back at the Caravan Park. How great was that.
The highlight of the Festival is the grand parade that takes place on the Saturday morning. It kicks of about 10am. We caught the 8.45 bus and took up a position. The weather was great. Overcast and probably only about 25. Of course, I never put on sun screen when we left the van. No need to worry. 25 and overcast for the day. Great.
The parade was really good, with tons of elvisses being driven down the main street in some awesome cars. Lots of floats, walking lookalikes, kiddy elvisses, Priscilla lookalikes, even tradie elvisses and fire brigade elvisses. Some of the muscle cars were struggling, with the SES having to resort to pushing 2 of them after giving up the ghost.
There was even an Elvis on a hospital trolley, I know that he had a drip inserted, but I think he had seen better days. There was even Elvis driving a small dozer and even a few show girls. All in all just good fun. .
Of course, as you all would have told me, the cloud lifted and the burning sun came out. Once again in was in the 30s and yes, it was the longest parade ever, over 90 minutes long. Yes, of course, I got sunburnt. You don't have to tell me, I know.
We checked out the competition at Cooke Park for the best Elvis Impersonation, under 16yrs, and there was one that was only 5 yrs old. How cute was that. We just spent the next hour watching different lookalike events on the stage before getting on the bus at 2.30 and heading home. It has been a tough couple of days in the heat.
Sunday we decided to have an easy Elvis free day, so we headed off to check of the town of Orange. It was a real surprise, as it is a lot bigger than we thought. Has a population of 42,000 and, my saviour, even has a Coffee Club.
After coffee we checked out the War Memorial in the main street, which is very impressive. There is a lot of parkland in the town area, and it is a very pretty town. We drove up to the lookout and took a snap of the town, but it was a bit hazy and doesn't show that much. We then drove to check out the local lake, and it was very impressive. There were several hundred natives at the lake, with lots of kids swimming or kayaking. They even have a little beach. I can imagine that it would become packed, that is, if it ever gets hot in Orange.
We then checked out one of the parks in the shopping precinct, and it even has an aviary in it. I took a snap of a beautiful Rosella in the cage. It is a bit blurred by the mesh, but it still came out reasonably well. They have a duck pond in the park, as well as a conservatory. Very well presented. Of course, they also have the standard German Artillery weapon guarding the park. They take security very seriously in N.S.W.
Then it was back to Forbes, where I took a couple of snaps in Sculpture Park. The photo of the Female with a rabbits head, straddling 2 men with dogs heads, doesn't do it justice. It is a very impressive sculpture. The Thinking Man was also very impressive. Of course, with modern art, they also had 3 or 4 other pieces of junk that I didn't snap.
Overall it was a very hectic few days but a very enjoyable stay at Forbes and the Elvis Festival. Will be leaving here in the morning, with an overnight stop in Coonabarabran, before landing at Tamworth on Tuesday.
Keep well
Barry and Deb.
Sounds like you had a great time apart from the heat. Some awesome looking cars and women up there. Remember to slip, slop, slap.
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