Immaculate Heart feast beats the great heatwave

09 Jan 2013

By The Record

Craft stalls and camel rides were some of the highlights at the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Chittering. PHOTO: Supplied

Immaculate Heart College  (IHC) in Chittering celebrated its own brand of Christmas celebrations with camel rides and reptilian close encounters on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The special day is also the feast day of the college, making it one of the most important days of the year.

The college’s biggest fundraiser, this annual event provided a day of entertainment for the community including song and dance performances, even a visit from Santa Claus.

Fortunately, the event fell on one of the coolest days of December, just ahead of the heat wave which struck the state during Christmas celebrations.

Perth residents sweltered during the festive season with four consecutive days over 40oC, a trend that had not been seen since 1933.

The Shire of Chittering, about an hour’s drive northeast of Perth, is not unfamiliar with the dangers of summer after a bushfire broke out in the area in January 2012.

Luckily for the college, summer troubles did not ruin its event which featured Country Muay Thai performers, the St Andrew’s Greek Dance Group and the Bullsbrook Dance Academy.

IHC principal Angela Evangelinou-Yiannakis said all the performances were highly professional and very well received by those who attended.

She said the project’s success was thanks to the persistence and long-term commitment of the IHC P&F and enthusiastic efforts of its Executive Committee.