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National | Arts

Pasifika Festival just around the corner

Pasifika includes performers from all around the Pacific. Source: ATEED

Aucklanders are in for another treat following Polyfest, with the Pasifika Festival just around the corner.

Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to attend the two-day festival from March 24 and will feature hundreds of local and international performers and artists.

Performers travelling from the Pacific Islands include hula groups from Hawaii, the Suluape tattooists from Samoa, the 32-member La Orana Troupe Tahiti from Papara, and the Heimana Hula Band from Rarotonga.

Pasifika includes 11 different 'villages' representing the Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Aotearoa, Hawaii, Kiribati, Samoa, Tahiti, Tuvalu, Tonga and Tokelau.

Visitors coming will also get an insight into traditional pit oven cooking such as hangi, umu or lovo, tattooing, weaving, carving and more.

“Pasifika offers the chance to revel in the sights, sounds and flavours of the South Pacific, and to get an insight into traditional practices across various cultures,” a representative from Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development says in a statement.

There will also be food, craft and retail stalls where festival-goers can buy authentic food, clothing, traditional arts and crafts, skincare products, novelties and souvenirs from the festival.