Colourfest returns to St Leonards Park in North Sydney on 18 April with a vibrant colour run, music and youth-led celebrations marking the start of NSW Youth Week.
On an autumn afternoon in April, the lawns of St Leonards Park take on a different character. Normally the park carries the easy rhythms of a neighbourhood green – dog walkers tracing the same loops, children drifting between playground and shade, office workers crossing diagonally on their way to the station. But once a year, colour arrives first.
It begins as a dusting in the air: clouds of pink and orange drifting above the grass, a ripple of music from temporary speakers, the low buzz of teenagers gathering in clusters beneath the fig trees. By early afternoon, the entire park has shifted tone. White shirts turn tie-dyed. Laughter travels across the field. The ground itself seems to glow.
This is Colourfest, North Sydney’s annual youth celebration – part colour run, part music gathering, and part neighbourhood festival.
Now in its fourth year, the event has quietly become one of the most anticipated Youth Week moments on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.
Colourfest Begins With A Burst Of Colour
The premise of Colourfest is simple enough: participants run, jump and weave through a course while clouds of coloured powder fill the air. But the experience is less about the run itself and more about the atmosphere surrounding it.
By the time the first runners gather at the start line, the park has already transformed. DJs test the sound levels. Volunteers hand out packets of coloured powder. Groups of friends negotiate strategies for the relay challenge while younger siblings chase each other across the grass.
Some arrive ready to run. Others come only for the spectacle.
What unfolds over the afternoon is something between a community fair and a festival of movement. Teams of four take on the relay course, sprinting between bursts of colour while spectators cheer from the sidelines. Teenagers cluster near the music, dancing in loose circles. Parents settle on picnic rugs while younger children attempt their own improvised colour runs along the edges of the course.
For a few hours, the park becomes a shared playground.
Youth Week And The Spirit Behind Colourfest
Colourfest also marks the opening of NSW Youth Week, a statewide program celebrating young people aged 12 to 24. Across New South Wales, communities host workshops, performances and creative gatherings designed to centre youth voices and participation.
In North Sydney, the idea has been to create something that feels local and welcoming – an event where teenagers can gather with friends while families remain part of the broader atmosphere.
The colour run provides the energy, but the underlying spirit is connection.
Teenagers who might normally travel into the city for entertainment instead claim a familiar neighbourhood park for themselves. Schools, youth organisations and local councils collaborate to support the day. Even passers-by, initially curious about the music drifting through the trees, often stay to watch the spectacle unfold.
By mid-afternoon, strangers are cheering for runners they have never met.
Colourfest Music, Movement And Friendly Competition
At the centre of Colourfest is motion – people moving through colour, through music, through shared space.
The obstacle course itself is playful rather than punishing. Participants dart between inflatable barriers, weave through powder stations and emerge in clouds of colour that settle across hair, faces and clothing. What begins as a clean white T-shirt becomes, by the finish line, a map of the afternoon.
The relay challenge adds a friendly edge of competition. Teams of friends gather near the start line, discussing who will take the fastest leg and who will face the final sprint. The mood is spirited but relaxed; victory here is measured less by time and more by enthusiasm.
Nearby, DJs build a steady soundtrack that pulses across the park. The music becomes the thread connecting everything – runners, spectators, volunteers and families.
Between races, participants drift toward the speakers, forming spontaneous dance circles. Colour hangs in the air long enough to catch the afternoon light.
Colourfest And A Broader Youth Week Program
While Colourfest anchors the opening weekend, the surrounding Youth Week program extends the sense of creativity into other corners of the community.
At the historic Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability in nearby Waverton, young fashion creatives lead workshops exploring sewing, upcycling and sustainable design. The Youth-Led Sewing Circle invites people to sit together, stitch garments and exchange ideas in a relaxed environment.
Another event, the Flip Fashion Forever workshop, introduces younger participants to the craft of reworking second-hand clothing – transforming pre-loved pieces into something new. Meanwhile, a community clothes swap encourages residents to rethink fashion consumption through repair, restyling and reuse.
Together, these events form a quiet counterpoint to Colourfest’s bright spectacle. Where the colour run celebrates movement and energy, the workshops invite patience, creativity and conversation.
Both share the same goal: giving young people a sense of ownership over their local community.
Event Details
Colourfest
St Leonards Park
Saturday 18 April 2026
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Free event (registration required)
Part of NSW Youth Week (16–26 April).
Official information and registration: https://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au