Love in the air as thousands enjoy Valentine’s Concert at Joondalup Resort

MAGIC was in the air when a capacity crowd of 8000 descended on Joondalup Resort for this year’s Valentine’s Concert.

Titled Witches, the free City of Joondalup event featured leading ladies of Australian musical theatre Lucy Durack, Amanda Harrison, Helen Dallimore and Jemma Rix, along with Simon Gleeson and the WA Symphony Orchestra, performing classic hits from the stage and screen.

“We had the best time and it was wonderful to be here on such a magical night and with such amazing weather,” Harrison said.

Hometown girl Durack said the performance was particularly memorable – loving every minute of the show – given she had 14 family members in the audience.

“I’ve performed outdoor concerts over east and you don’t really see the stars,” she said. “Here, you see the stars.”

“It was such a magical experience.”

Dallimore said Witches was a concert particularly suited to an outdoor venue.

“There’s a lot of references to the vast dark sky and midnight and so on, so it was kind of fun for us to look up and be able to see the sky,” she said.

Rix agreed saying it was a rare opportunity to perform outside, given all four are more accustomed to indoor theatre venues.

“It was very beautiful seeing the sea of people,” she said.

The women were also lavish in their praise for male protagonist Gleeson and WASO, under the guidance of conductor Kellie Dickerson.

“It was like magic, actual magic,” Durack said of WASO’s performance. “They had only one rehearsal.

“Having Kellie there was a massive coup for us; a massive safety blanket because we all know her so well.”

Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob said he had been to several Valentine’s Concerts and this show was “right up there with the best”.

“Our City is blessed to be home to this high quality, family-friendly cultural event which clearly resonates with our local community who continue to support and enjoy this popular annual occasion,” he said.

However, the event was not a free night for everyone, with City Rangers contacted to deal with cars illegally parked in a residential street near the venue.

Joondalup chief executive Garry Hunt confirmed 45 $60 parking fines were issued on the evening of the concert.

“For a number of years residents in Connolly have expressed concern with illegal and dangerous parking in their suburb on the night of the Valentine’s Concert,” he said.

“City Rangers were contacted and requested to attend and deal with incidents of cars being parked on median strips on a residential street.”

He said concert parking was provided on the Joondalup Resort golf course every year for event attendees.

“This year it was estimated to only be at around 60 per cent of its capacity for the concert,” Mr Hunt said.

“The City also actively promoted other methods of transport to the event, including via public transport, with shuttle buses running to and from Joondalup train station as well as drop off points.”

He said the City had received “only a few complaints in relation to parking” and would “review arrangements for the 2019 Valentine’s Concert”.

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