Pasifika Festival

Auckland has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world, and Pasifika, running since 1993, is the event that makes that visible. It is organised as villages rather than as one stage: separate areas for Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Niue, Fiji, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Kiribati, Aotearoa and Tahiti, each run by its own community with its own performances, food, crafts and language. That structure is the reason it works - you are not watching a generic Pacific show, you are moving between distinct cultures that happen to share a city. Food is the other draw: umu-cooked pork, taro, palusami, raw fish in coconut cream, and long queues at the best stalls. It draws crowds well into six figures over the weekend. The event has moved venue and format several times, has been cancelled for weather and for the pandemic, and now charges entry where it was historically free, so check the current arrangements.

What you actually see

• The island villages - separate areas run by each community.
• The performances - dance and music specific to each nation.
• The food stalls - umu cooking and long queues for the good ones.
• The scale - the largest Pacific festival anywhere.

When to go

March, over a weekend - the exact dates are announced each year. Take public transport; parking at Western Springs is hopeless on the day.

Honest expectations

It is very crowded and queues for food are long. Entry now charges where it was once free, and the venue and format have changed repeatedly. It has been cancelled for weather before.

Nearby

Western Springs and MOTAT are on the site; the Auckland Zoo is adjacent.