Every group was dressed in traditional costume from their home nation including Nepalese folk dance, a Tongan brass band and an Israeli dance group.
Ann Kerewaro, an organiser for the festival, said the weather put a slight dampener on the day but she was pleased with the end result.
"We had some stallholders pull out this morning and there are some people who haven't come because of the weather, but overall it's turned out really well. We're pleased," Kerewaro said.
The sun was beating down on festival goers when the Bay of Plenty Times visited around 12pm.
People were relaxing on lawn chairs or blankets under multi-coloured umbrellas while watching the entertainment.
The festival had returned to Wharepai Domain after eight years of being located at the Historic Village.
Kerewaro had received "good feedback" about the change of location and the organising committee would have to decide where to hold the 20th celebration next year.
Daksha Mistry and her brother Sanjay Lal had attended every Multicultural Festival in Tauranga for the past 14 years.
Mistry taught a group of children traditional Indian dance for the Masti Dance Group.
The group had practised their routine every weekend since the end of January before their performance on stage this morning.
Mistry said it was important for the children to learn about their Indian heritage through song and dance.
"I encourage them to sing along to the music so they can hear the Hindi accent and also know the meaning behind the words," she said.
Lal said performing traditional Indian dance in front of a crowd gave the children a lot of confidence.
"We find the children do a lot better academically as well."
