Auckland City Council
Media release

8 February 2010

Pasifika Festival expands

New Zealand’s biggest Pacific event, Pasifika Festival, is expanding for 2010, with new events and new locations.

Auckland’s popular Pasifika Festival is a free celebration of our diverse Pacific communities, organised annually by Auckland City Council.

“Pasifika is a chance for us to celebrate the diversity of Auckland’s Pacific communities and it is regarded by many Aucklanders as the event they are most proud of,” says Arts, Culture and Recreation Committee chairperson, Councillor Greg Moyle. “That’s why we are really excited to see this popular festival develop into a multi-day experience.”

The week leading up to festival day on Saturday, 13 March sees several new exciting additions to the Pasifika Festival programme.

The Best of the Auditions, presented by Pasifika Festival in association with New Zealand Major Events and Dawn Raid Entertainment, runs from 8.30pm each night, Monday, 8 to Thursday, 11 March. The concerts in the city centre feature performances from the top 10 individuals and groups from festival auditions held in January, as well as guest artists from Dawn Raid and the Mana Maoli Collective from Hawaii.

Pasifika Festival also presents Fakakaukau, a Pacific debate series at Auckland Town Hall and Aotea Centre from Monday, 8 to Wednesday, 10 March. These debates are presented in association with Te Puni Kōkiri, and feature academics, politicians, artists and activists discussing a variety of topics, including Pacific and Maori identity and representation and the value of indigenous education.

Pasifika Festival presents Mika and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in Po; Beautiful Darkness on Friday, 12 March at the ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge. Po; Beautiful Darkness is Mika’s one-night only return to the stage in a spectacular new tribal pop opera performed with the APO and several international artists.

The Pasifika Festival Opening Night Concert takes place on Thursday, 11 March at Western Springs. This concert features performances from each of the 10 communities represented as “villages” on Saturday’s festival day – as well as a special contribution from PIBAC, the city’s Pacific Island Board, and performances from international artists travelling to Auckland for Pasifika.

And of course, the culmination, festival day, takes place on Saturday, 13 March, bringing together thousands of Aucklanders for a great day out at Western Springs.

Expect more than 350 stalls, 10 Pacific Island villages and 12 stages, delicious traditional foods and flavours, non-stop entertainment, cultural workshops, and giveaways.

Pasifika Festival 2010 also sees the launch of the first “Pasifika – the compilation” album from Dawn Raid and Universal Music. This limited edition collection includes more than 35 of the best Pacific artists and timeless hits from the past 50 years of Polynesian music, including The Herbs, Te Vaka, Nesian Mystic and Savage.

Pasifika Festival 2010 celebrates Pacific connections to the Molokau (centipede) and Frangipani flower – symbolising perseverance, fertility and growth, and acknowledging the first-born.

Pasifika Festival 2010 is proudly provided by Auckland City Council and supported by 2degrees, Air New Zealand, Youthtown, Flava 96one, Māori Television, Tip Top Ice Cream, Radio 531pi, The Edge®, Dawn Raid Entertainment, New Zealand Major Events, NZCT, Creative New Zealand and Te Puni Kōkiri.

There are a number of other events and activities during festival week this year. Visit www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/events for a full programme and further information about Pasifika Festival 2010.

Ends

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