Parkes invited to ‘Come meet the King’
Wayne Powyer and Forbes/Parkes Corp Officer Lieutenant Troy Munro got in to the spirit, dressing up during the Parkes Elvis Festival.
Elvis Presley may have taken centre stage, but The Salvation Army were also a big hit at the annual Parkes Elvis Festival from 7-11 January.
Lieutenant Troy Munro, the corps officer at Forbes/Parkes in NSW's Central West, says the festival, which celebrates all things Elvis, has been running since 1993 but this was the first time The Salvation Army had been involved.
Lieut Munro says the corps saw the event as an opportunity to not only reach out to the 12,000 residents of Parkes, but the 20,000 visitors who flooded the town this year for the festival.
“The Salvation Army’s presence in the town has been for all that time but they’ve never had an actual presence at the festival,” said Lieut Munro.
“We could touch base with the community by seeing us being involved in something they are proud of but we can also touch base with a lot of visitors to the community.”
The Parkes Salvation Army Welfare Centre and Family Store is located within the road closures for the festival which was a great opportunity to provide a venue, according to Lieut Munro.
A small chapel was set up in a room at the Family Store and tables and chairs out on the footpath allowed a quiet place for people to take a break from the festivities.
A sign hung over the door of the Family Store which said “Come meet the King”, which led to many meaningful conversations with people who came through the doors.
The Blacktown Corps band and timbrel brigade travelled from western Sydney for the weekend. They performed a 30-minute set on one of the main stages, playing some of Elvis’ hits, but mostly gospel music.
“When just about every other performer on stage was either an Elvis impersonator or people dancing to an Elvis song it was a refreshing style to just have some brass music,” said Lieut Munro.
The band also performed a small concert on the Saturday night at The Salvation Army which attracted 40 people from the community. The following morning they visited the Rosedurnate Aged Care Plus centre and played for the residents.
The Salvation Army was asked to provide breakfast catering for other stallholders and ran a sausage sizzle throughout the festival.
Greater West Divisional Leaders Major Warren and Denise Parkinson visited Parkes during the festival, with volunteers from Forbes/Parkes, Orange and Wellington Corps helping throughout the event.
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