The Pasifika Festival, at Auckland's Western Springs Stadium, is a celebration of the art, culture and lifestyle of the South Pacific, showcasing all things Polynesian, from traditional food and handicrafts to contemporary arts and music.
The event opens on Friday evening with the Opening Night Concert, showcasing some of New Zealand's Polynesian talent, all around this year's theme of 'the frigate bird'. The main festival - with its 300 food and craft stalls - takes place on the Saturday, attracting 140,000 visitors.
Auckland is home to the largest expatriate population of Polynesians and it is said that the Pasifika Festival is the only time you can visit the Pacific Islands without actually leaving the city!
The adopted logo of the festival incorporates symbols of spiritual significance to the people of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia - including human figures representing family, the life-giving sun, the trochus shell and frangipani as male and female elements, the frigate bird for the ancient Diaspora, the cross and, finally, the vaka form (a traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe) and wave pattern representing the ocean vessels that carried the Polynesians from island to island.
Auckland is home to the largest expatriate population of Polynesians and it is said that the Pasifika Festival is the only time you can visit the Pacific Islands without actually leaving the city!
The adopted logo of the festival incorporates symbols of spiritual significance to the people of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia - including human figures representing family, the life-giving sun, the trochus shell and frangipani as male and female elements, the frigate bird for the ancient Diaspora, the cross and, finally, the vaka form (a traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe) and wave pattern representing the ocean vessels that carried the Polynesians from island to island.
AU
BE
DE
DK
ES
FR
IE
IT
SE
NO
NZ
UK
US