By Simon Hndery
Huge crowds turned Auckland's multicultural melting pot into a Pacific pressure cooker on Saturday.
About 80,000 people flocked to Pasifika '99 at Western Springs - the biggest-ever festival, according to organisers.
The annual Island showcase in the world's largest Pacific Island city provided a feast of culture and cuisine for the crowds who packed in for the all-day lakeside festival.
Scores of food stalls sold everything from hotdogs and hangi meals to Samoan pai fala (pineapple pie).
On the three main stages more than 80 acts - 1000 performers - from a dozen cultures danced, drummed, strummed and sang their own brand of entertainment.
Between performances, the audience at the children's stage were able to win cans of corned beef by answering questions such as "Who is the captain of the Manu Samoa rugby team?"
Just a short push away through the crowd - under a tent flying the red, white and black Maori sovereignty flag - tattooing had become a spectator sport.
Passersby took time out from the venue-to-venue trudge to peer in and watch the tattooists at work.
If it all got too much, a nearby tent was offering 15-minute massages for $15.
Pasifika's growing success has become its greatest problem. Festival-goers battled traffic queues and parking hassles in the morning and, lakeside, there were bottlenecks for the patient crowd. Patrons leaving late in the afternoon found themselves jostling with arriving Speedway fans.
"It was by far the biggest festival we've done," organiser Pitsch Leiser said yesterday.
"We were very pleased with the way Pacific communities have embraced the festival, which runs on a really mean and lean budget."
He said the Pasifika committee would review the event to see what further improvements could be made for next year. "Our only limitation is our funding."
Pictured: Eric Tamo, originally from Papua New Guinea but now a resident of Northcote in North Shore City, spreads the news about the huge crowds. HERALD PICTURE / GLENN JEFFREY
80,000 brave crush for city's biggest Pasifika
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