First event The first Parkes Elvis Festival, held in 1992, was a one-night event attracting 200 people. It was held at Graceland Restaurant to commemorate Presley's birthday. Over the next few years more events were added and the festival was extended to two days with a few hundred people attending.
2005 By January 2005, the attendance had increased to 3,500 people.
2006 In January 2006, there was a 40 per cent increase with around 5,000 attending the festival and it injected an estimated $8 million into the Parkes economy.
SBS Independent commissioned a half-hour documentary on the festival,
Elvis Lives in Parkes, which was first aired on Australian television on 10 January 2007.
2008 Featuring over 80 events, the 2008 Festival attracted in excess of 8,000 people.
2009 The 2009 festival became the biggest ever with a huge crowd of 9,500 enjoying the Elvis festivities. The King's Castle, a collection of genuine Elvis memorabilia, was introduced in 2009 adding a new dimension to the festival. The collection is now open year-round.
2010 The festival attracted record crowds again with 12,000 people enjoying over 140 events across 5 days.
2011 The 2011 festival attracted 15,000 people. There were over 150 events across the 5 days. The Kings Castle, a collection of genuine Elvis memorabilia in Parkes, moved to a new and improved complex allowing more visitors to see the collection.
2012 The 2012 festival started on 11 January 2012. It features a guest appearance by Australian singer
Kamahl.
2016 US Elvis tribute artist Donny Edwards was the headliner and he was told it was the first time in the festival's history that all four shows had been sold out.
2017 The 2017 festival ran from 11 to 15 January. It was the 25th festival. The theme was Viva Las Vegas. The Elvis tribute artists for the four feature concerts held at the
Parkes Leagues Club were Pete Storm and Jake Rowley.
2018 The 2018 festival ran from 10 to 14 January. It was the 26th festival and celebrated 50 years since the "
'68 Comeback" theme. More than 26,500 people enjoyed an array of events including international Elvis tribute artist Ben Thompson.
2019 On 23 January 2019 it was reported by
Free Malaysia Today as well as the
Parkes Champion Post that some $13 million had impacted on the economy of Parkes, as more than 27,000 people visited to attend some 200 Elvis-themed events, with the New South Wales state government projecting an injection of $43 million into the wider region surrounding Parkes in 2019 due to the festival's success.
2022 With 2021's cancellation due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the festival went on hiatus until April 2022. The Parkes Elvis Festival entered its 29th year and attracted close to 25,000 to the town some 222 miles west of Sydney. ==Sponsors==