SHELBY BRADY AND SAMANTHA SAW

June 2, 2014

Western Australia’s best arts, music and food was celebrated today with a special Come Out and Play event held at the Cultural Centre in Perth’s CBD.

Now in its second year, Celebrate WA expects more than 20,000 people to attend Come Out and Play today, twice as many people as last year.

The Come Out and Play day had more than 48 activities and 10 short films showing, all focused on Western Australia’s strengths and run by local organisations.

Thousands of families came through Perth’s Cultural Centre during the day.

A young family of four sitting on the Cultural Centre steps enjoying ice cream loved the festivities of the day.

Steve Campbell, father of two, said WA Day showed the state had a lot to be proud of with Western Australia really prospering.

Steve’s son, Cooper, 7, was delighted with the food at the festival, screaming, “ice-cream!”

Sitting by the Campbells were Kathy, Harriet (7) and Dermot Boyle who were accompanied by Olivia Wheatley (also 7).

“Its great, we never usually come into Northbridge,” Mr Boyle said.

“It’s encouraged us to come into Northbridge again.”

Around the corner from the steps of the Cultural Centre, in the Urban Orchard, families waited patiently in lines for their turn to have their faces painted.

Amanda Leigh and her two-year-old daughter, Sophie, were enjoying the sunny day out.

“We are New Zealanders but have chosen to live here for the past seven years and we love all that WA has to offer,” Ms Leigh said.

The Mid-Coast City Church Youth Group made a special trip up to Perth from Port Kennedy.

“We just got here and it’s awesome!” said youth leader Holly King, posing for photos with her group.

The group was drawn to the big draw cards, the WA Museum’s Dinosaur Discovery exhibition and the Buy West Eat Best food tent.

Celebrate WA CEO Patria Jafferies has spent three days overseeing the WA Day long weekend festivities.

She said SciTech, the Royal Flying Doctors and Indigenous community chemists also had a presence.

“We have SciTech here because science and maths is so important to young people,” she said.

The day’s feature event, the WA Signature Dish competition held in the Buy West Eat Best food tent, was judged by international chef Guillaume Brahimi.