Northland celebrates Pasifika

Traditional Pacific dance and other cultural demonstrations will form part of the Pasifika Fusion Festival in Whangarei next month. Photo / File

Whangarei will for the first time play host to a showcase of the very best Pacific islands cultural performances, art and craft, food, music, and sports.

The Pasifika Fusion Festival, hosted by Te Moananui O Kiwa Pasifika Charitable Trust in partnership with Hihiaua Cultural Centre Trust, will run from 10am to 2pm on the Hihiaua Peninsula section of the Hatea Loop Walkway, on Saturday, March 21.

Entry is free to the smoke, alcohol and fizzy drink-free event.

Themed "We are Pacific", villages from Aotearoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji, Tuvalu, Tonga and Niue will be selling food and art and crafts.

On stage, there will be dance and music performances throughout the day with kids activities, demonstrations and lots of cross-cultural fun.

MC for the day is Tongan actor John Tui.

He has acted in Shortland St, Power Rangers, Outrageous Fortune, Go Girls and Sione's Wedding and recently worked in Hawaii and the United States on the Hollywood sci-fi movie Battleship alongside Liam Neeson, Rihanna and Taylor Kitsch.

Chair of Te Moananui o Kiwa Pasifika Charitable Trust, Maualaivao Ueli Sasagi, said the festival celebrated Pacific people in Northland who have either achieved or were achieving high standards in their field.

"We feel that showcasing our cultural performances, arts and crafts, food, music, sports and games is a step towards living in harmony with different communities in Northland," Mr Sasagi said.

"We were inspired to create an event where our people, Maori and Pasifika, showcase their cultures, arts, crafts, food and music. Our main aim is to promote and enhance cultural diversity and appreciation and to attract more visitors to Whangarei

"The festival is a step towards bringing people together. We do not have to travel to Auckland to see a Pacific Island festival but instead we are creating our own. We hope it will become an annual event and grow year by year to include sports, particularly waka ama, and other activities."

He said Tui was excited to be part of the first Whangarei Pasifika Fusion festival and looked forward to working with the Northland community.

Local Maori and Pacific Island community groups, and education and service providers are participating to showcase their skills and talents.

The festival is supported by the ASB Community Trust and the Northland Pacific Islands Charitable Trust.