[1/3] Elvis Tribute Artist, Sheryl Scharkie, also known as ShElvis, strikes a pose in the main street at the Parkes Elvis Festival in Parkes, Australia January 6, 2023.
REUTERS/Cordelia HsuPARKES, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Among the hundreds of Elvis tribute acts wandering the Australian country town of Parkes, one stands out: Sheryl Scharkie, also known as ShElvis.
Parkes, 350 km northwest of Sydney, is home to a 64-meter telescope and an annual Elvis Festival, now in its 30th year.
A nurse by day, the 64-year-old Scharkie is Australia’s most prominent Elvis Tribute Artist (ETA), as they are known, and for most of her nearly decade-long career, the country's only female one.
It's no longer male or female ETA, gender just goes.”Scharkie has been an Elvis fan since childhood and remembers watching his movies at her grandmother's house.