The school holidays begin this week, and with Easter just around the corner, family-friendly events are popping up left, right, and centre. Keep the little ones entertained at Pixar Putt, the Easter Kids Night, and the Kids Big Carnival, while for the adults, there’s a variety of lunches and dinners on Good Friday and the Block Party on Sunday night.
Here’s what’s on this week in Perth:
Monday, April 3rd
Pixar Putt
Miniature golf with attitude. Inspired by some of Pixar’s most iconic films and characters, putt your way around 18 interactive holes at Pixar Putt. Make your way around holes featuring scenes from beloved movies, including Toy Story, Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Cars, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo.
Pixar Putt tee’d off at RAC Arena last Friday and will be in Perth for the next four weeks. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, after the sun goes down, Pixar Putt becomes an adults-only affair with a pop-up bar introduced. It’s the perfect excuse to get your friends together and see who can be crowned 2023’s Pixar Putt champion (disclaimer — there is no actual crown, just bragging rights with your friends).
Wednesday, April 5th
Autumn Concert Series
If you haven’t yet heard the musical genius that is Jessie Gordon and Mark Turner, you’re in for a treat. Held at Moana Hall — a lesser-known event space in the heart of the CBD that oozes Great Gatsby vibes — it’s the perfect venue for an intimate evening of the jazz notes for which these two are famous.
Limited tickets to the Autumn Concert Series are available on Eventbrite for $45.34 each. The venue is licensed and a bar will be available for drink purchases. Turn it into the perfect date night by booking into one of the surrounding restaurants or bars for dinner. If you want something fancy, we’d recommend Santini Bar and Grill or Post in the State Buildings. For something more casual, make a late-night visit to Alfred’s Pizza (no booking required) and find out why they’re known as one of Perth’s best pizza places.
Thursday, April 6th
The Leederville Comedy Club
Grassroots Comedy brings you the opening night of The Leederville Comedy Club. This will be a weekly event held every Thursday night, bringing together some of the funniest comedians in Australia for your laughs and entertainment.
Opening night will feature Pony Knox, Thabo Tshuma, Xavier Susai, Russell Peters, and Steve Coogan to name a few. The ongoing series is being held at The Leederville Precinct, giving you many food and drinks options for a great night out with friends.
Friday, April 7th
Good Friday marks the start of the four-day Easter long weekend and while some people use it as a great excuse to go away with friends and family, others prefer to stay in Perth, go out, and enjoy the events happening around the city. Here are some of our picks for places that will be serving you this Friday.
Kick off the weekend with a three-course brunch at The Peninsula in Mandurah. Start with a fresh seafood platter packed with tiger prawns, oysters, Shark Bay scallop ceviche, pickled local octopus, fried squid, and kingfish crudo. For mains, choose between Cone Bay Barramundi, Franklin River Roast Pork Belly, Crispy Skin Chicken Breast, and Homemade pappardelle. End the feast with a dessert grazing board featuring churros, brownies, passionfruit curd tarts, and macarons.
Sit back and enjoy the ambience as you feast on a selection of the chef’s favourite dishes at the newly renovated The Claremont. On arrival, you’ll be greeted with a glass of sparkling to get you started. Expect to indulge in some of the best local seafood, all prepared by chefs Nick Trezise and Telina Menzies.
Next up, enjoy a sharing-style feed-me menu of seafood delights and panoramic views over East Fremantle and the Fremantle Port at Sweetwater Rooftop Bar. Choose from Leeuwin Coast Akoya oysters, Shark Bay tiger prawns, and Singapore Blue Swimmer Crab, and finish with a yuzu tart with lime and mascarpone for desert.
You may have heard us rave about this place before, we do go on about it a lot, and for good reason. Italian restaurant Post will be serving up a seafood feast with its Frutti di Mare degustazione. We don’t even need to see the menu, we’re already marking it in our calendar and wishing it was a regular affair.
Fremantle International Street Arts Festival
Every year (almost without fail), the Easter long weekend brings with it the Fremantle International Street Arts Festival. We’re not saying that those two are related and that the Easter Bunny brings this festival with it, but we don’t really believe in coincidences. Now in its 22nd year, the festival will transform the streets of Fremantle into an eclectic hub for the weird, wacky, and wonderful. Showcasing a program full of local and international artists, see dancers, circus performers, acrobats, and magicians perform and wow you.
As it takes forever to get to Fremantle — unless you live there — you’ll want to make a day of it. Fremantle’s food scene is a bit of a well-kept secret and it’s time to break that. While we’re not going to list every single food place you should visit, there are a few we’re going to highly recommend. Our top picks are Emily Taylor Bar & Kitchen — we were there on Tuesday for lunch, simply divine — Republic of Fremantle, and Tonic and Ginger.
WAFL returns for another season
The West Australian Football League (WAFL), begins today with a grand final rematch between West Perth and Claremont. The last time these two teams played, West Perth won the premiership trophy after beating Claremont by two goals. Will the reigning champs start their season with a win, or will Claremont challenge them and avenge their heartbreaking loss?
East Perth will also be taking on Swan Districts, while Peel Thunder and East Fremantle will battle each other until the final siren.
Kids Big Carnival 2023
The Wanneroo Showgrounds will come alive when the Kids Big Carnival springs into action during the April school holidays. Catered for children aged between two and twelve years old, the rides, food, and entertainment have all been designed with the little ones in mind.
Rides include carnival favourites bumper cars, roller coasters, bouncy castles, and spinning cups and saucers, and don’t forget to enjoy the carnival staples of hot cinnamon doughnuts, dagwood dogs, and fairy floss. Make sure to keep an eye out for the Easter bunny who will be roving about and hiding chocolate eggs.
The Kids Big Carnival runs from April 7th to 10th. Tickets are $17.00 each which includes all rides.
Saturday, April 8th
Chocolate High Tea
As we all know, Easter is the best excuse there is for indulging in chocolate. Our friends at QT Hotel in Perth are taking that love of chocolate to the next level with their new Chocolate High Tea series. It’ll be held every Saturday at Santini Bar and Grill where their award-winning chefs have crafted what will arguably be the best chocolate high tea menu that Perth has ever seen.
We’re talking freshly baked orange and chocolate hot cross buns, triple chocolate tarts, chocolate brownies nests, and QT Easter eggs, just to name a few. If you’re drooling a little bit, that’s okay, so are we.
Chocolate High Tea will run every Saturday in April between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm.
Xanadu
Lace up your roller skates and become acquainted with Greek mythology for the laugh-out-loud musical Xanadu. Based on the film of the same name, the performance follows precocious muse Clio as she helps struggling artist Sonny Malone rediscover his creativity.
Xanadu runs for a select time from April 8th to April 16th at the Regal Theatre with both matinee and evening shows.
Sunday, April 9th
Block Party
A Sunday session with a twist, celebrate the Easter long weekend as Block Party takes over Print Hall, Bob’s Rooftop Bar, and Apple Daily. The custom-built venue will host a silent disco and a rooftop stage. Whilst organisers have remained tight-lipped about who’s performing, expect to see local acts gracing the stage.
Main image: Fremantle International Street Arts Festival
