The spirit of Telethon has officially spilled out onto the streets of Perth’s CBD, with thousands flocking to the 2026 Telethon Family Festival for a day of carnival colour.
The entertainment extravaganza — presented by Coles — kicked off on Wellington Street on Sunday morning stretching hundreds of metres, with thousands of delighted punters treated to unlimited free rides, live performances, showbags, food trucks and festival activations.
The Lotterywest Kids Carnival featured nearly a dozen rides, including the iconic teacups, Dream Swinger and Runaway Train, with swarms of giddy festivalgoers forming long queues.
Children could be heard cheering and squealing in delight as they won huge plush toys from a vast range of classic sideshow games.
Loren Karpinczyk said she had been coming to the festival with her kids Lyla, 7, and Ry, 4, for the last three years, and said they had spent the morning playing nearly every game the carnival had on offer.
“We always look forward to it, and it’s nice knowing that the money is going towards something important, so we don’t mind doing all the games and all the rides,” she said.
“We’ve done the clowns, we’ve done the fishing pool ... we’ve done pretty much everything and we’ve got heaps of little bits and pieces.”
She said her kids had directly benefited from Telethon and that she was thrilled she could finally give back.
“Ry did speech through Telethon speech and hearing as well, and Lyla was a premmie baby, so there was a lot of stuff in the NICU that we did for Telethon, so it’s important for us,” she said.
“It just breaks my heart to think all of these sick children, and I think it’s such a nice way to come together and fundraise.”
Dozens of vibrant activations and Telethon beneficiary stalls lined Wellington Street street, whilst roving street performers and guest celebrities — including Fat Cat and Batman — milled about greeting fans.
Among the stars was Channel 7 icon Rob Palmer, who was drenched in a bucket of cold spaghetti after unveiling a $10,000 cheque from Pharmacy 777.
Activations included a face painting station, sensory station, petting zoo and Radio Lollipop’s live karaoke.
Sisters Ellie Murphy, 14, and Gracie Murphy, 8, put their nerves to the side and performed in the karaoke, singing an impromptu rendition of Olivia Rodrigo’s 2026 hit Drop Dead.
“Our favourite artist is Olivia Rodrigo and we love her new album, and we always sing her songs together and she’s our favourite singer,” Ellie said.
“My favourite bit about Telethon is definitely just the community coming together, it’s great and it’s actually the best weekend of the year.”
Meanwhile inside the arena, dozens of dedicated West Aussies were continuing their mammoth 24-hour community fundraisers, including Boogie Bounce’s bounce-a-thon and Aviation Rescue Firefighting Services’ treadmill walk.
Liya Angeles, 9, said her mum was jumping in the 24-hour bounce-a-thon, and vowed to join her on the trampoline next year.
“Next year me and my mum might do 24-hours on the trampoline,” she said.
Die-hard Hawthorn fan Tanya Greaves visited the festival with her six-year-old granddaughter, Bambi-Rose, and said the highlight of Telethon was seeing ex-Hawks star Shane Crawford on the big screen.
“We live in the city, so we’ve been watching it all happen. The kids have been excited watching them set-up overnight, so that’s been great ... the kids woke up this morning and were like, ‘Oh my God,’” she said.
“It’s our first year here and it’s amazing. I cannot believe Telethon and Channel 7 and what they’ve put on, it’s so good, the organisers have done an amazing job.”
Bambi-Rose donned a stunning flower-themed face-paint and said the best part of the day was having sweet treats and going on the rides.
Tori Templeman visited the festival with her family and friends, and said Telethon was about teaching her kids to be grateful about their own health.
“Our children are fortunate enough to be happy and healthy right now, and it’s about what they can do to help other children ... it’s about kids getting behind other kids,” she said.
“We encourage our kids to donate, we went into the arena and they were able to donate to the people who were walking around, and when we go home we normally make a donation as well via the TV.”
Ms Templeman’s son, Jordan Zahradka, 11, said he was thrilled to be spending the morning checking out all of the rides, but said the highlight of his weekend was helping sick kids.
“The best part is how much money they raise each year for all of those sick kids in hospital that have cancer,” he said.
Shelley Lee said this was her first year bringing her family to Telethon, and said they were enjoying a delicious serving of fairy-floss before heading inside the arena.
“The kids got their prizes and they’re having fun ... I’m a nurse myself and I’m studying to be a midwife, so it’s very important for my kids to understand how lucky they are and I think it’s nice to expose them to everything,” she said.
People can donate to Telethon by phoning 1300 737 507 or visiting the link here.