Exhibitions Fairs & Festivals

Almost every weekend there is a festival, a fair or an exhibition of some kind going on in the region.  The last three Saturdays have been spent enjoying the cultural landscape of New Zealand and the islands.

Pasifika is an annual festival where 'islanders' come to Auckland to exhibit and sell their wares in a large park south of Auckland.  Almost every island is represented, even Hawaii, demonstrating the best of what the Polynesian and Melanesian cultures have to offer.  The intoxicating aroma of food to appeal to most any palate, colourful costumes and traditional dances all exhibited in a park setting make for an amalgamation of the diverse flavor of the South Pacific.

Fruit and fish are staples of an islander's diet and they don't skimp on the portions. Seeing half a watermelon with large scoops of ice cream on
top was not an uncommon site.  Raw fish seemed to be on the menu in many of the booths as well.  Coconut drinks straight from the shell and assorted fruits from which they made milkshakes and smoothies and some were even on skewers.


The dances and and music had to be the highlight. Large bandstands were set up through out the site and each island engaged in their own form of music and dance.  All were colourful and engaging.  The costumes added to the pageantry

 and it appeared as though the particular costumes matched the timbre, rhythm and beat of the music

They were consummate entertainers smiling or frowning according to the cadence and flow of the music. Even small children participated matching the more seasoned dancers with every move.  I found my self fixating on  particular dancers entranced by the obvious immersion they had in the experience.  Their dances bespeak a deep bond with their respective cultural heritages.

The day was warm and sunny, most certainly a climatic condition  they were accustomed to. Probably eighty percent of attendees could claim polyanesian, melanesian or mircronesian ancestry judgeing by the characteristic features. They are an attractive people, large in stature with pleasant  demeanor and  relaxed presentation.




On another weekend we went  to a Chinese Lantern Festival.  This too was in a park setting and attended by throngs of people, most of south east Asian extraction.  Here again the food represented a cross section of every variety of Asian food imaginable.  We saw people eating squid on a stick with or without tentacles.  We indulged in pork balls which were essentially steamed dough with spicy pork inside. We tried a couple other treats which were new to me not being not overly adventurous when it comes to novel culinary experiments.

Thousands attended this festival with the lanterns intricately glued or sewn together then painted.  The variety of forms, shapes and sizes not only bespoke the time and effort to make but the creative imagination of the fabricator. There were perhaps a hundred or more exhibits.

We got there before the crowds arrived and we were glad we did.  It would have been difficult just to move from exhibit to exhibit given the throngs of people.  Of course it is at night when the lanterns take on the their intended purpose. LED lights radiate from the inside and
the true colour is appreciated.  We stayed until dark and decided to escape the hordes.

When planning a trip to New Zealand it is a good idea to align the schedule with one or more of these festivals or fares.  We enjoyed them both as they represent just part of the rich cultural heritage of this country.

I went myself to an agricultural fair a couple hours north of Auckland.
I did not include pictures here as i forgot my camera in the car.  It was to my liking for the old tractors, logging practices and the exhibits providing a feel for another aspect of New Zealand.  Of course there were tractor pulls, sheep shearing, dog trials and a number of vendors appealing to the agricultural community.

Dairy farming is slowly taking over from sheep as the mainstay of the agricultural economy.