Polyfest is back celebrating Pacific Culture and beyond

Epsom Girls' Grammar School Sri Lankan group about to perform on the Diversity Stage. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Polyfest, the annual celebration of Māori and Pacific culture for schools opened at the Manukau Sports Bowl yesterday with a dawn flag raising ceremony followed by a welcoming Powhiri.

Yesterday’s performances were dedicated to the diverse cultures found across Aotearoa New Zealand in modern times with 38 groups appearing on the Creative NZ Diversity Stage.

Dance, waiata, costumes and food from Filipino, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, Tahitian, Korean, Indian, Fijian and Tuvaluan cultures were on display before the more traditional performances get going on the Cook Islands, Maori, Niue, Samoan and Tongan stages Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Image 1 of 10: Baradene College Filipino group. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

From its small beginnings 49 years ago where four schools took part, the ASB Polyfest has developed into one of Auckland’s largest events, with over 8000 students performing on a festival stage from 69 schools this week. It is recognised as an important showcase of New Zealand’s diverse cultures and a celebration of youth performance.

Each stage has a surrounding village featuring a mix of traditional food, arts and crafts plus stalls from a variety of organisations and community supporters. Traditional Island food will be aplenty during this week’s four-day festival.

ASB Executive Manager Commercial Partnerships Mark Graham said he was looking forward to seeing spine-tingling performances and meeting many locals during the festival that ASB has been a proud sponsor of for nearly 40 years.

“ASB has been a proud sponsor of ASB Polyfest for more than 39 years, and we’re thrilled to remain a big part of the festival today,” Graham said.

“With more than 8000 students from across Auckland taking part, ASB Polyfest 2024 is set to be a wonderful cultural event for people of all ages, and we’re looking forward to meeting students from different Polynesian cultures and seeing remarkable performances on each of the six stages,”

Polyfest is on at the Manukau Sports Bowl until Saturday.

For more information go to www.asbpolyfest.co.nz