The afternoon, hosted by Dean Clairs with an official welcome by Channel 10’s Narelda Jacobs, kicked off with hundreds junior members participating in the giant footy clinic on Fremantle Oval.
The children made the most of the opportunity to sharpen their skills with the entire playing list, including Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands, Michael Barlow, Hayden Ballantyne and Stephen Hill.
An introduction to the 2011 playing squad including the new recruits followed the clinic.
Meanwhile, in an event that had every young child in attendance wondering, “Which one is the real one?”, 500-plus Santas taking part in the Variety WA Santa Fun Run crossed the finish line, which just happened to be on Fremantle Oval.
Santas big and small, short and tall gave it their all, but in the end, the winner was, well, Santa.
As the sun set on Fremantle, the jolly festive-goers pulled up their picnic rugs and tuned their vocal chords for a night of Christmas carols, led brilliantly by the West Australian Detachment Royal Australian Navy Band.They were ably assisted by special guests including Beaconsfield Primary School Choir, Vocal Evolution, the Christian Brothers College Jazz Orchestra and the Ocean Reef Primary School Drum Corp.
Christmas hits, such as 12 Days of Christmas, Joy to the World and the ever-popular Australian Jingle Bells, plus many more were sung.
The carols concluded with everyone chiming in for the timeless John Lennon classic Happy Xmas (War is Over), before the night sky lit up in a breathtaking fireworks display - a fitting way to end a wonderful evening.
Thank you to everybody who came along and supported the event which was brought to you by the City of Fremantle and the Fremantle Dockers, and was proudly supported by Network 10 and Alinta Gas.
On behalf of the Fremantle Dockers, Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year to all our members and supporters.
Click here to see pics from the event
