Campbelltown’s iconic Koshigaya Park was turned into a kid’s kingdom at the weekend as the Macarthur Multicultural Children’s Festival was born.
From Scottish Sword Dance to Maori Hakka to Punjabi Bhangra and Columbian Salsa, centre stage exploded in a riot of cultural colour.

The new festival celebrated twenty years of cultural gatherings for children in many parts of Sydney organised by the Children’s Festival Organisation led by founder Thuat Nguyen OAM who said on Sunday:
“We believe that children are a starting point in building social cohesion and therefore this festival is our best way to create harmony in our community and to make everyone feel proud to be Australians”.
Festival Director, Brian Laul, said today: “The festival opened up a connection and a dialogue between people of the different cultures that make up Macarthur’s social fabric”.
Meanwhile, Mr Greg Warren MP, State Member for Campbelltown, told the huge crowd in Koshigaya Park during the official launch of the new festival: “This festival provides opportunities for children and adults to join in many exciting activities that go a long way towards garnering harmony within all our communities.”
Over 350 children from 40 community groups performed on the main stage and marched in the grand parade through the park as well as proudly sharing their culture through activity stalls. Thousands of people from the south west of Sydney flocked to the festival in the centre of Campbelltown.

By the end of the day there was general agreement amongst participants, their families and VIPs that this festival was now a fixture on the local events calendar.