Pasifika Festival is coming up at Western Springs this weekend. I know this because the Auckland City Council delivered me a letter telling me so. I guess they’re pre-empting neighbourly complaints from those who try to drive down the closed Bullock Track and who will have their street parking nicked, their peaceful weekend consumed by the beating of Pacific Island drums and the hoopla of festive festivalgoers pounding their normally peaceful footpaths.
Getting amongst the Pacific culture
Personally I love it. I’m near enough to Western Springs to hear AC/DC (read: recession ticket) and the buzzing of speedway, and I’m looking forward to waking up in Samoa next weekend.
Here’s a run down on what to expect at this year’s Pasifika Festival:
Thursday March 11 – Opening concert from 7pm – 9pm. Free admission.
But it’s all happening on Saturday March 13 from 10am – 5pm.
Music, dance, stalls, entertainment and the chance to taste some of the best of Pacific cuisine: raw fish, pineapple pies, fresh coconuts, crackling pig (mmm).
Watch weavers weaving and see how each “village” differs through performing arts, music and crafts. There’ll be workshops and demonstrations and heaps of yummy food!
Pasifika attracts more than 200,000 visitors and over 1000 performers from Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Maori (tangata whenua).
The Pasifika Festival is held at Western Springs, but there are also other Pacific Island events on around Auckland – click here for more information.
Tags: Auckland, pasifika, western springs
Megan Singleton is an