Australian festival honors Elvis Presley

SYDNEY, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Scores of Elvis Presley impersonators have descended on the Australian town of Parkes for a festival dedicated to the late singer.

The BBC said Saturday the Parkes Elvis Festival, created in 1993 at a local restaurant, has become an annual event that includes impersonation contests and even an art show. About 7,000 people converged on Parkes this weekend, almost doubling the town's population.

The Rev. John Ruhle, who helped organize this weekend's event, said the festival and its Elvis-themed Gospel church services draw quite a dedicated crowd.

"You get comments, people saying 'my husband hasn't been to church in 35 years but he wants to come to this' and people come back year after year so they can go and be a part of the gospel service," Ruhle said.

Ruhle told the British broadcaster he doesn't understand how his small Australian town came to host such a successful festival dedicated to the U.S. King of Rock 'n' Roll.

"So it is, yeah, it's quite humbling and it's amazing," he said. "For whatever reason it works, honestly (I) can't explain it but it really does work."