New Zealand’s Pasifika Festival is the one of the most significant cultural and community festivals in the South Pacific, and is the world’s largest Pacific festival of its kind. The Festival brings together diverse Pacific nations to celebrate their unity and, at the same time, celebrate the diversity of cultures and identities.

The 18th Pasifika Festival, from 8 to 13 March, is expected to attract over 200,000 people, including over 1000 performers from the Kingdom of Tonga and other Pacific countries.

Proudly sponsored and supported by Air New Zealand, Pasifika Festival 2010 is a multi-day event including a festival day, a debate series, music concerts, a creative playwright’s clinic, a free dance workshop, a number of traditional and contemporary art and photographic exhibitions and theatre.

Saturday 13 March is Festival Day and is Pacific communities from Auckland, New Zealand and overseas come together to celebrate their rich cultures through food, dance, music and the arts.

The Ministry of Labour and Commerce are co-ordinating Tonga’s involvement at the Festival. The Pacific Island Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO) in Fiji is generously providing funding for eight representatives from the Kingdom of Tonga to man Tonga’s village at the Festival. Each Pacific nation is unique in terms of their history, language, culture and traditions, and the festival day will give people a taste of each nation in its own “village”, with traditional and contemporary performing arts, music and crafts.

In the Tongan village, visitors will hear the resonating sounds of the beating of tapa, see the flickering of the pandanus strips as they are woven into a mat and smell the mouth-watering scents of the succulent crackling puaka (pig). And that’s just the beginning! For more info, see Air New Zealand Holidays or Auckland City Council.