Hamish has all the moves: Hamish Newham watched a full length Elvis movie when he was only two years old. At four he is featured as the new star, the next tribute artist as part of the Elvis Festival’s promotion for the 2017 event. “He loves dressing up in his white Elvis suit, doing his Elvis moves and watching Elvis concerts,” says mum Katrina Dwyer, Brand Marketing Manager at the Parkes Shire Council. She is involved in the Elvis Festival for her work, and Hamish started watching Elvis movies with her. “I have never taught him anything as I did not grow
up with Elvis, but he loves watching Elvis concerts. I don’t know where else he gets his moves from.” Last year Hamish was determined to busk with his toy guitar and microphone in the main street, and people started giving him money. So for next year he is learning songs to do some real busking and perform his favourite song, Burning Love. “He might even take part in one of the competitions,” said Katrina.
Local Artists Take 20: Arts OutWest ventured to Parkes last week to host a Winter Arts Networking Night at Bent. It was an intimate but animated talk, with a small group of local creative practitioners braving the winter chill to share their work. The presentations followed a 20 x 20 format; each presenter shared 20 images and discussed each image for 20 seconds. There was lively discussion about the upcoming Elvis Festival, Maralyn Nash’s local
art projects, and Elly Tom shared her passion for the Parkes Shire Concert Band. The Winter Arts Networking Nights aim to bring creative people together to celebrate their practice. Tracey Callinan, the Regional Development Officer of Arts Out-West, facilitates the events. This year the program visited Lithgow, Orange, Blayney, Grenfell, Canowindra, Bathurst, and will finish off the season at Oberon, with the final session at 3pm on Sunday, 18th September. For more information visit http://artsoutwest.org.au/