Ocean Grove Tennis Club held its Fast 4 events, which was highlighted by a performance from Yirrmal.
Described as ‘barefoot bowls, but tennis’, Fast 4 is a social event with an emphasis on fun.
Abe Anderson provided the entertainment for the first Fast 4 event and Yirrmal Marika was the headline act for the second event.
Participants were encouraged to dress up in their retro ’80s gear and enjoyed drinks and pizza while playing, watching and listening to the live music.
By the time Yirrmal was ready to perform, more than 100 people had come through the gate and all were excited to see how Yirrmal would cope with the step up from the Sydney Opera House earlier in the month with this performance at Ocean Grove’s world famous Tennis Arena (as so ably recast by Yirrmal when promoting the event on ABC Radio the day before). There was no disappointment from the outset. Yirrmal started with a spine tingling song in his native tongue with no musical accompaniment and everyone knew this was going to be a special performance. Two hours later, by the end of his second set and with the crowd up and dancing and singing out load to ‘Happy in My Heart’ nobody was going home without music in their feet, heart and soul.
The event was great fun and helped to raise money for the redevelopment of the clubrooms designed by DE atelier Architects, with stage one set to start in May to provide a new kiosk, bar, universal toilet with baby change facilities and universal access into the club and grounds. The tennis club will be happy to have Yirrmal back again next year to experience the renovated ‘OGTC Arena’ and kick off fund-raising for stage two.
The club was thankful to Kate Gorman, Brendan Snookes and Kieran Blood for their help on the day and in organising the event and to all members and friends of the tennis club who turned up and helped to make it such an enjoyable day.
