Rouge Panga from the Tama 'Aru Dance Group performs on the Cook Islands village stage at last year's Pasifika Festival. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Rouge Panga from the Tama 'Aru Dance Group performs on the Cook Islands village stage at last year's Pasifika Festival. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Top Pasifika tips
This Saturday and Sunday
Free entry
Don’t forget your hat, sunscreen, water bottle and comfortable shoes
Use free park and ride shuttle service from Unitec, Carrington Rd, to Western Springs
Aukilani’s annual Pasifika Festival is early this year - and with the weather forecast showing nothing but sunshine this weekend, it promises to be an epic show of island culture, food, dance and music.
This year celebrates 32 years since the well-known festival was started at WesternSprings and turned into an established feature on the city’s and Aotearoa’s events calendar.
There will be seven Pacific Island villages - each with its own live musical and cultural performances, food (both traditional and contemporary), handicrafts and arts and crafts stalls unique to that specific Pacific nation.
The villages this year are Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Niue and Aotearoa. A special Fale Pasifika village will have performances and stalls showing off the cultures of Tahiti, Tokelau, Hawaii and Kiribati.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited major events group manager, Faumuinā Jep Savali, said to anyone who had yet to attend a Pasifika Festival over the last three decades, this weekend is the time to see it all.
“This is one of the most diverse cities in the South Pacific and Tāmaki Makaurau is the Polynesian capital of the world, arguably.
“It’s an opportunity for us to showcase our communities - the colours, the sights, the sounds and the vibrancy of our people reflected in these villages.
“This festival has over 1000 performers, there’s arts, crafts, food and all of the things our families are used to.”
The kai / mea’ai
The food up for grabs is always a huge drawcard for many members of the public, as it is one of the only times to get Hawaiian poke, Cook Islands mainese, keke pua’a and keke mamoe (pork and lamb buns) from the Samoan village, oka (raw fish), Niue’s takihi, the Tongans’ otai, the Fijian lovo (similar to hangi), umu and sapasui (chopsuey) and hangi and mussel fritters from the Aotearoa site.
And it would not be Pasifika without the much-loved ice creams in a watermelon.
The Pasifika Festival is the place to immerse yourself in traditional food and drinks from the pacific.
“All of the mea’ai (food) that we’re used to, I can’t wait to eat,” Faumuinā laughed.
Faumuinā said visitors could also look forward to the opening of MOTAT just nextdoor, which will also provide another aspect to the Pasifika experience.
“It makes sense for us to be evolving more into the space and incorporating them into this amazing festival.”
Pasifika Vibes at MOTAT
People will be able to test themselves on the traditional way of coconut scraping (valu popo) at MOTAT's Pasifika Vibes. Photo / Raymond Sagapolutele
Only for the second time, MOTAT is opening its doors to the Pasifika Festival crowd as part of its own event, dubbed Pasifika Vibes.
This year, both the Great North Rd and Aviation Hall sites will be open for the first time - with free entry to the Great North Rd site and half-price entry to both adults and children at the aviation entry.
There will be live performances and fusion groups; as well as several activations and sessions in association with some of the city’s other museums - including Maritime NZ, the Auckland Museum, the Auckland Art Gallery and the Stardome Observatory and Planetarium.
Pasifika Vibes Event co-ordinator Trey Togiavalu-Latu said activations took influence from Pasifika culture and there would be a coconut scraping demonstration, art printing, a ukulele playing station and a waka-making activation.
MOTAT events co-ordinator Trey Togiavalu-Latu. Photo / Raymond Sagapolutele
People will also be able to try their hand at building their own pūrerehua, or bullroarer - an ancient instrument traditionally made out of bone, wood or stone that was used to summon rain or ward off evil spirits, depending on the beliefs of different cultures.
Togiavalu-Latu, of Tongan and Niuean descent, said she was proud to be involved in an event that was ultimately promoting Pacific and indigenous cultures.
“From a personal perspective, just to see such an embrace from MOTAT for Pacific culture and their support...to make this happen, it feels like a step in the right direction for our organisation.
“MOTAT is a really cool place. Don’t forget about us - we’re here too.”
Getting there
The Pasifika Festival is on for two days this year, Saturday and Sunday. Photo / Dean Purcell
Traffic congestion is always heavy and finding a car park is a mission on festival days, so people are encouraged to use public transport or park-and-ride services.
One of the easiest and best ways to get to Western Springs is via the free Park & Ride service from nearby Unitec on Carrington Rd, Mt Albert. Just park your car at Unitec and catch a shuttle bus to Western Springs.
The shuttle runs every half an hour starting from 8.30am on Saturday and 9.30am on Sunday, with the last rides leaving Western Springs at 6.30am and 4.30am on those respective days.
If you still need to bring the car, there is paid parking available at the Auckland Zoo next door, as well as MOTAT’s Aviation Hall carpark and the carpark outside The Auckland Performing Arts Centre on Motions Rd.
Parking costs $2 per hour at all those carparks and is capped at $8, no matter how long you are there.
There is also some on-street parking on Old Mill Rd, Motions Rd and Great North Rd, but some of those spots are restricted to three hours.
Vaimoana Mase is the Pasifika editor for the Herald’s Talanoa section, sharing stories from the Pacific community. She won junior reporter of the year at the then Qantas Media Awards in 2010 and picked up the best opinion writing award at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.
