Rotorua and New Zealand's Dutch communities are being asked to reconsider their Black Pete pre-Christmas tradition.
But the Netherlands Society Rotorua is defending the tradition - where a person blackens their face, paints their lips red and dons a curly black wig to hand out presents and sweets to children - saying it's not racist and brings joy to children.
The Dutch tradition came under fire last year, and protests against the practise were held in the Netherlands, when the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called on the Netherlands to revamp its Black Pete Christmas tradition because some saw it as a "vestige of slavery".
The Netherlands Society Rotorua is holding its final Dutch Market of the year this morning at its clubrooms in Neil Hunt Park where Black Pete, also known as Zwarte Piet or Black Peter, will make an appearance with St Nicholas (Sinterklaas).
The Black Pete tradition is also followed in Belgium and Luxembourg.