With more than 25,000 people who descend on Parkes for the Elvis Festival every year, many of these rock-and-rolling, hip-swivelling fans are usually dressed in a star-studded jumpsuit complete with a big hair wig. It's hard to contemplate why someone would even consider wearing a full-body jumpsuit with a wig in the middle of summer in central NSW - an area that has 40-plus degree heat. So we've turned to who we'd like to call the experts, who have mastered over many years the best way to beat the heat while walking to the Elvis beat in a jumpsuit and the best way to care for it. Parkes man Al Gersbach is the town's unofficial Elvis ambassador known as "Alvis", who without question will hop into his Elvis jumpsuit, dye his hair black, whenever he is needed or called upon. It's all in the name of the Parkes Elvis Festival and its year-round promotion, and ask the man himself, he'll tell you he loves every minute of it. Al has been dressing as Elvis for 15 years and owns four jumpsuits. He also has what he calls an "after show" outfit for nights, which includes trousers, a puffy sleeve shirt and a leather vest. So how does he survive the heat in that jumpsuit? "Lots and lots of water," he said "I usually stay in the suit all day, depending on what I'm up to. "I stay away from the air conditioners and stay outside because when you go inside too much, your body is going from massive heat to massive cooling quickly." And the quality of the jumpsuit plays a huge role too. Al doesn't just find his suits from anywhere, he purchases his jumpsuits from America. They stretch and breathe better, and they're cooler. It's almost become a requirement for the mayor of the town to dress as Elvis. Now former Parkes Mayor Ken Keith OAM has been doing this for 14 years and originally had a red jumpsuit. He now wears a nice, light blue suit. "The best thing I ever did was buy that blue suit from America, it has better lining and it's cooler.
