Ten Pacific Islands: Tangata Whenua, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tonga, and Tuvalu

The idea for Pasifika Festival came from the South Pacific Islands Development Association (SPINDA), a core group of Pacific Island Consuls, the Pacific Islands Chambers of Commerce, TVNZ, Telecom, a group of companies and Auckland City Council.

Former Mayor, Les Mills, initiated our involvement and the festival was first produced by Auckland City Council in 1993. It has rapidly become a highlight for Auckland, initially attended by 30,000 people, and growing to now attract over 225,000 people and hundreds of performers from all over the Auckland region and the Pacific .

In 1999, the festival introduced cultural villages. These are areas dedicated to celebrating the unique aspects of each of the Pacific Island communities involved in the festival. Each village has its own programme of both traditional and contemporary entertainment including music, dancing, workshops, demonstrations, activities and food.

In 2001 an opening night concert was added to the Pasifika Festival programme. This has grown to now be a feature of the Pasifika Festival, giving those who can’t attend the festival day an opportunity to enjoy part of the festival.

In 2005, we launched a week-long series of events, exhibitions, workshops, play readings and film screenings culminating in the Pasifika Festival. This programme of events, dubbed Celebrate Pasifika, has grown to be a regional event with a vision to grow from Pasifika Festival to an internationally recognised series of events that will profile, celebrate and grow awareness of Pacific culture and arts across the Auckland region and internationally.

In 2007, Pasifika Festival received the award for Best Established Event at the New Zealand Association of Event Professional Industry awards. Pasifika Festival has also received the ‘Certificate of Achievement’ for the Outstanding Achievement Award in the Community Relations category at the New Zealand Event Management and Event Marketing Conference in 1994, and the 2001 Creative New Zealand Creative Places Awards, festival category.

Source: Auckland City

Tongan performance

Accessories stall

Tongan Music

Pacifica food

Fijian food stall

Samoan village

Oka (raw fish) - I should have tried it

COol illustration

NZ rappers

Kava drink - I tried and liked it.