Committee For Lorne: FOPA has arrived

Lorne is buzzing in anticipation of the Festival of Performing Arts (FOPA) this weekend.

We warm things up on Thursday night with a Piano Bar in Lorne Central, featuring Australia’s foremost piano bar entertainer Trevor Jones.

The Opening Gala at Cumberland Resort on Friday is the fastest ever selling event in the festival’s history, but we’ve just put four additional tables on sale to cope with demand. For those who can’t get a ticket to the piano bar after the gala, the Lorne Hotel has free live entertainment on offer.

Saturday and Sunday see a smorgasbord of options throughout the day and night. Tickets are as low as $10 to keep it affordable, plus there’s plenty of free pop-up and roving entertainment.

A favourite for kids will be The Vegetable Plot – Songs of Love and Peas. It’s a fun show which educates kids about eating healthy foods …but it’s done in a clever way that they don’t know it’s educational! Another favourite for youngsters will be Acts of Absurdity – a circus, magic and comedy spectacular which presents bite sized morsels of magic, chaotic clowning, preposterous physical feats, and much more.

For those who love magic and comedy, we’re excited to welcome Random to Lorne Hotel. Magician Dom Chambers was recently the second ever Australian to appear on hit British-American television program ‘Penn & Teller: Fool Us’. It’s easy to see why Dom is increasingly being referred to as the revolutionary new king of Australian magic.

The multi-talented Sammy J has made headlines recently for his comedic political coverage (let’s face it, there’s been a lot of material from Canberra at his fingertips recently!). For FOPA, you can get up close and intimate with one of Australia’s favourite skinny men (second only to Mr Squiggle).

Sadly, Nancy Sinatra recently died. However, her brilliant music lives on through shows such as Nancy Sinatra – You Only Live Twice. Danielle O’Malley and her band presents a sexy, sassy tribute to this icon of 60s pop.

For music lovers, dual ARIA award winning singer/songwriter Monique Brumby and her band perform for the first time at FOPA. With five albums and three EPs recorded over 20+ years in Australia and the US, she brings a wealth of repertoire to Lorne Hotel.

On Sunday, the key event is the Open Mic at Lorne Hotel. The announcement it will be hosted by Rusty Berther (Scared Weird Little Guys) has encouraged some surprising submissions sure to keep you entertained. Entry is by gold coin donation.

And to wrap up, come to the “After FOPArty” at Lorne Bowls Club featuring lots of live music.

Check the website for the full list of shows, times and venues: www.fopa.com.au

Alternatively, the physical box office at Lorne Central will be open 11am to 3pm throughout the week and on the nights when shows are on.

A big thanks to all the hard-working members of the local steering committee who are remounting the festival after a year’s hiatus, and to all our sponsors, FOPA Friends and other supporters who are pitching in to making the festival thrive.

Committee
Lorne Business & Tourism Association (LBTA)