Tickets are still available for next week's Heart Stopper event at Mildura Arts Centre (MAC), which is helping to raise awareness about heart disease and its impact on communities.
Mildura Rural City Council has thrown its support behind the event, which is a partnership between star comedian Dilruk Jayasinha and Heart to Heart.
Heart to Heart was founded by local resident Katrina Umback following the unexpected death of her husband, Scott Umback, from a heart attack in 2019.
Scott was Council's Manager Cultural and Leisure Services when he passed away in 2019.
The sudden and unexpected loss prompted Katrina to do what she could to help prevent other families going through the same experience.
Dilruk Jayasinha's new comedy show, Heart Stopper, will not only entertain Sunraysia audiences, but carry a serious underlying message to raise awareness and funds to help combat heart disease.
There will be a 60-minute panel discussion before Dilruk takes to the stage, featuring medical professionals, Heart Foundation representatives, local residents who've lived through heart disease and Heart to Heart founder Katrina Umback.
Mildura Mayor Liam Wood encouraged residents to support the event.
"This is a great way to raise awareness about a serious community health issue while ending the night on a lighter note being entertained by one of Australia's funniest comedians," Cr Wood said.
Dilruk has filmed a stand-up special for Amazon Prime and appeared on Utopia, Celebrity MasterChef Australia and Have You Been Paying Attention.
The Mayor said Council continued to work closely with Sunraysia's community health network to combat heart disease and other conditions.
"Heart disease is a very real and very serious problem in our community, made worse by our relative isolation from metropolitan centres," Cr Wood said.
"We know that regional communities like ours don't have equitable access to health services which means medical problems can be identified late and access to treatment can be delayed.
"In the worst cases members of our community are dying prematurely. This is why we'll continue to advocate strongly for better health services to prevent or treat heart disease and other serious conditions.
"We'll also continue to play our role to find local solutions, such as looking into health checks in workplaces including Council, which can be an effective early warning measure."
Heart Stopper will be held at MAC next Friday, 13 October, starting with the panel discussion at 6.30pm before Dilruk takes to the stage at 7.30pm. Tickets are available at www.milduraartscentre.com.au
