Perth families will be able to enjoy a free WA Day Festival weekend featuring carnival rides, live music, circus performances and fireworks, with Burswood Park and surrounding areas hosting two days of entertainment on November 21 and 22.
The expanded festival will include the BHP Family Zone, where children can use the free carnival rides, alongside circus acts under the Big Top, hands-on activities in Innovation Alley and sporting challenges in the Seven Sports Zone.
A cultural precinct will showcase Aboriginal music, art and storytelling, while fireworks will light up the sky on both nights.
For Perth grandparents Sandra and Robert Trench, the event offers a way to spend time with their grandchildren Lachie and Eadie without adding to the pressure on household budgets.
The couple attended last year and said the range of entertainment meant the family could spend the entire day at the festival before returning in the evening for music and fireworks.
“There was stuff for the younger kids, there was music for them and then we also went back at night to see one of the bands and fireworks, it just has everything and you pay nothing,” Ms Trench said.
She said the family had not been left wondering how to fill the day. “There was never anything in that day where we were sort of thinking, ‘What will we do now?’”
Free WA Day Festival expands across Perth parks
Music will be a major part of the programme, with WA acts Eskimo Joe and Coterie headlining the main stage.
Coterie will perform on Saturday night, while Eskimo Joe will close Sunday’s entertainment as the band marks 20 years since the release of its album Black Fingernails, Red Wine.
The line-up also includes The Southern River Band, Gyroscope, Abbe May’s All Stars, Birdland, Ricky Neil Jr, Clare Perrott and Samantha Jade performing with OrchXtra.
Ms Trench said the cost of everyday activities, including a trip to the cinema, had made free community events increasingly important for families.
“Everything is so expensive,” she said. “WA Day gives them a bit of everything and they just have a great day and we pay nothing.”
She estimated taking the two grandchildren to the movies, including tickets and snacks, cost close to $100, while the family’s visit to last year’s festival cost only the price of a picnic prepared at home.
“The kids actually felt they were getting something, but it wasn’t actually costing anything,” Ms Trench said. “Even just to take the kids out to do something simple like the movies, which used to be a reasonable day out, now it’s just priced out of control.”
This year’s two-day celebration will extend beyond Burswood Park into Charles Paterson Park and Kagoshima Park.
