Have you figured out where you're going for a stereotypical summer vacation yet? Maybe Cancun or Jamaica? Perhaps it's the year for Orlando or Cabo. Or—bear with us—a cruise? We're of the mind that if you're going to go all out and get on a big boat with thousands of others to drink and eat for 4 days or more, there better be some irony to it. A good example is taking a theme cruise versus a regular one, or going the super classy route on a Cunard ship.

Our current favorite option is the Elvis Cruise 2012, which happens next January, so you've got allllll summer to save up and start amassing adhesive sideburns. It's a quickie cruise—four days from Jacksonville, FL to Nassau, Bahamas—but there'll be 2,000 Elvis fanatics onboard and the idea of that blows our mind. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-03-18T14:31:43-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/1/11/31952/5174
What do you get when a small town some six hours from Sydney decides it wants to make itself famous? You get an Elvis Festival in a place that has absolutely no link to the guy at all.

But if you're an Elvis fan that shouldn't stop you time-warping right this instant to Parkes in inland New South Wales, where as we speak the Parkes Elvis Festival is up and swinging. With Elvis impersonators on every corner, special Elvis movie screenings, even Elvis in the Park Markets, the four-day festival brings in a million dollars a year directly to the 10,000 member town (and generates eight times that indirectly), and that ain't peanuts!

It all culminates this weekend with the Elvis Sportsmans Dinner; dress is optionally smart casual, or rock 'n' roll. But is it a case of true Elvis devotion or a way to strip tourists of their bucks? You decide.

[Photo: King'76]

Related Stories:
· Parkes All Shook Up [ABC Online]
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