Pacific Islands Festival 2018: 26 years later, the festival is later, longer and bigger

This year’s Pacific Islands Festival may take place later than usual, but organisers have big plans for the new time slot and hope to draw in bigger crowds.

Next weekend’s event will mark the 26th anniversary of the event, which has been held since 1992 in Western Springs.

As always, Pacific culture will be fully represented – through traditional dance, cuisine, arts and crafts – as well as other customs and ways of life including tatau (tattoos), carving and traditional culinary practices such as hangi, umu (Samoa) or lovo (Fiji).

For the first time in its history, the festival will open a week after the Auckland Secondary Schools ASB Polyfest, which took place over four days in Manukau this week and saw more than 10,000 students perform.

Pacific Islander Leisa Siteine, the new project manager, said the change was discussed and made with the goal of attracting more young people, especially those who attend Polyfest.

“A lot of times, a lot of young people can’t come to the festival because they’re busy preparing for Polyfest.

“We thought it would be great to have some of the school winners perform in Pacific Island countries after the Pacific Island Show.

“They won’t have much pressure because it’s not a competition and this will give them a chance to show their performance again to more of the community.”

Siteine’s involvement comes after Auckland Council’s Ateed (Auckland’s tourism, events and economic development group) re-took control of the festival, following three years of management by Orange Productions.

Another change is that stalls will open an hour earlier to 9am after members of the public said many had to wait to get to the food and craft stalls on Saturday and Sunday.

Enjoy Pacific Islander culture

Again, those who want a taste of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia can visit all the islands at once, as the 11 island villages offer unique cuisine, performances and art.

These countries are: Fiji, New Zealand, Kiribati, Hawaii, Niue, Samoa, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and the Cook Islands.

Each place has its own attractive activities and events.

Highlights include watching the famous Suluape family perform live tattoos in a Samoan village, reenacting a traditional wedding in Tuvalu, cooking lovo in Fiji, making lei in Hawaii, and traditional weaving in the centres of Niue and Kiribati.

Veteran broadcaster Bernard Tairea is the coordinator for the Cook Islands Village, a position he has held for 15 years.

He promised that the event would feature Ti Wayewa quilt-making, traditional tie-dye demonstrations, drumming performances and plenty of Ula dancing.

“This year we have 21 dance groups, 15 bands, five local solo artists, beauty queens from the Cook Islands and the South Pacific, and a band from Rarotonga.

“The festival has been very popular and is growing from strength to strength. I’m very excited, especially to be able to do something for my village again this year.”

Supporting Pacific Enterprises:

In addition to the much-loved food and craft stalls, the Pacific Marketplace also has its own section for the first time, showcasing popular products from the region.

The Pacific Island Business Market will feature 40 stalls from island companies associated with Pacific Trade and Investment’s Go to Market program, promoting their products to the New Zealand market.

Items available for bidding include clothing, handicrafts, coconut oil and skincare products, frozen seaweed from Tonga, coffee from Vanuatu, and organic skincare from the Cook Islands and Samoa.

need to know:

when: Saturday, March 24 to Sunday, March 25, 9am to 5pm.
Where: Western Springs Park, Auckland.
What: Food and crafts from: New Zealand, Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Fiji, Cook Islands, Tahiti and Kiribati.
Cutting Edge: When riding public transportation, don’t forget to bring a hat, water bottle, sunscreen, and comfortable walking shoes.