Celebrate Pasifika 2009
1 to 31 March 2009
Kia ora Malo e lelei, Taloha ni, Kia orana, Talofa lava, Ni sa bula vinaka, Fakalofa lahi atu, Greetings.
Welcome to Celebrate Pasifika 2009.
The month of March is packed with exciting and fun Pacific events and culture throughout Auckland, the biggest Polynesian city in the world.
From the large scale Pasifika Festival and ASB Polyfest, to the thought provoking Mau Forum, there's art, music, dance, theatre, workshops, seminars, exhibitions, sport, food, crafts, and much more to tempt the entire family.
Welcome, savour, sing, dance, listen, share, learn, laugh and enjoy the culture and events of Auckland's Pacific peoples!
Highlights
ASB Polyfest
18 to 21 March
Entry: $3 (preschoolers free)
Manukau Sportsbowl
Te Irirangi Drive, Manukau city
09 523 4212
Experience the South Pacific at its finest at this unique cultural festival featuring traditional music, dance, costume and speeches among Auckland colleges.
ASB Polyfest highlights the passion and pride among youth for their heritage, and the discipline and commitment they have to become the best in the Auckland region.
The theme for the 2009 ASB Polyfest is "Many Cultures, One World".
Waitakere Pacifica Mamas and Papas
Monday to Friday
10am-3pm
Waitakere Pacific Arts and Culture Centre and Studio Shop
426 Great North Road, Henderson
mary@pacificaarts.org
09 838 3205
Free
The Waitakere Pacifica Mamas and Papas run a wonderful range of cultural activities throughout the year, and make beautiful authentic arts and crafts, including weaving, leis, fans, baskets, jewellery and carvings that are displayed and sold at their colourful Studio Shop.
Supported by Waitakere City Council, the Pacific Mamas and Papas have been at the Corban Estate for over a decade, creating a thriving cultural space for Pacific elder citizens to showcase their traditional skills and pass on their knowledge to children and our wider communities.
Auckland Festival 2009 - The Queen Street Sing Sing
Saturday, 7 March
4pm-9pm (main concert starts 7.30pm)
Queen Street (near Aotea Square)
Free
Come to the biggest musical party of Auckland Festival 2009. An afternoon of free music and a market village in Queen Street culminates in the first New Zealand performance of Sing Sing, a celebration in dance, colour and song.
Sing Sing honours the songlines of Oceania. It celebrates the links between diverse yet connected nations as "one saltwater people" and brings together the region's most significant singers, musicians and dancers.
Sing Sing is a concert that interweaves a dynamic mix of traditional and contemporary musical forms from downbeat acoustic soul to tear-jerking ballads.
MAU Forum
Open until 21 March
Corban Estate Arts Centre
426 Great North Road, Henderson , Waitakere city
(entrance off Mt Lebanon Lane)
09 836 9345
"The Perception of Truth and Beauty" is the theme of the fourth MAU Forum.
Curated by Lemi Ponifasio, the program presents some of the most inspired and provocative artists, thinkers, heads of governments, writers, activists and leaders from many fields, from across the Pacific region and around the world.
Highlights include the Samoa Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi as keynote speaker for the Pacific Thought Symposium, the world-renowned director Peter Sellars' address at The Pig Dinner, and the New Zealand premiere of Lemi Ponifasio's Tempest: Without a Body at Aotea Centre's ASB Auditorium for the opening night of Auckland Festival 09.
South Auckland Poets
Collective Show
Saturday, 14 March
9.30pm-10.30pm
The Basement Lower Greys Avenue, Auckland city
Entry: $10
grace@youthline.co.nz
021 128 3966
South Auckland Poets Collective (SAPC) is made up of 10 young poets with a fusion of Pacific Island ancestry who perform poetry through spoken word, song and drama.
Armed with their notebooks and voices, SAPC give voice to their world in a fresh and creative way.
Come and feast on some straight up, solely and lyrically spoken delights.
Pasifika Festival
Saturday, 14 March
10am-5pm
Western Springs Park, Western Springs, Auckland
Free
09 379 2020
Pasifika Festival is a one-day cultural festival of the South Pacific.
There is all-day entertainment on three main stages, 10 cultural villages spread throughout the park - each featuring traditional foods for sale, stalls selling traditional and contemporary wares - and entertainment on local stages.
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