Pasifika Festival 2020

Since it began 27 years ago, Auckland’s award-winning Pasifika Festival has grown to become the largest Pacific Island cultural festival of its kind in the world.

In the early 1990s, former New Zealand Herald Pacific affairs reporter Roy Vaughan worked with community leaders like Cook Islands Consul General Bill Te Ariki and Reverend Leuatea Sio to bring together different Pacific communities, churches, and leaders around an idea of a ‘South Pacific Week’.

From there, the first festival was a joint initiative between the newly formed South Pacific Island Nations Development Association and the then-Auckland City Council, to celebrate and share Pacific Island cultures and bring Pasifika communities together.
Over the years, Pasifika has featured fashion shows, theatre performances, a pop opera, and sports competitions, with input from numerous Pacific Island leaders, performers, and community groups. Its duration has varied between one and two days, sometimes with ancillary events on preceding evenings.

The annual festival now attracts around 60,000 visitors over the two days (depending on weather); features about 220 local and international performance groups; and more than 200 food and craft stalls, including artisans who travel from the islands to take part.

Pasifika Festival is set to return to Western Springs in March 2020. Pasifika Festival is an annual celebration that unites Pacific cultures through incredible performances, delicious food and drink, workshops and more.

We are thrilled to announce the festival dates of Saturday, 14 and Sunday, 15 March 2020, Western Springs Park, Auckland, New Zealand.

Event times
Saturday, 14 March 2020
9.00am - 7.00pm (Villages close at 5.00pm)

Sunday, 15 March 2020
10.00am - 4.00pm