Aoraki festival to celebrate diverse cultures
South Canterbury’s many diverse cultures will be celebrated at a festival in Timaru on Saturday, with hopes that the event will continue to grow.
There will be 89 stalls showcasing different food, crafts, and arts at this year’s Multicultural Aoraki Festival, to be held at the Ara Campus field from 11am till 3pm.
The organisers say the aim is to bring people together.
Festival co-ordinator Maturo Siaosi said the day would feature a mix of cultures, including the Pasifika, Chinese, Syrian, South African, Filipino and Indian communities.
“South Canterbury has all these different cultures,” he said.
“It’s great to get all the communities together and share their food and their performances. All these communities are very strong.”
Multicultural Aoraki, formerly known as
Aoraki Migrant Centre, has hosted several festivals over the years. Because of the growth, the festival was moved to the Ara field last year.
Siaosi said last year’s festival had about 4000 people through the gates, and he expected this year’s number to be similar.
He hoped one day the festival might be able to incorporate a traffic-free Grey Rd for the day, but for now the organisers would “continue to build”, he said.
“Last year, I was standing in the middle of the field at 11am and I saw people starting to walk in, and I just thought, ‘This is so cool.’”
The festival was free to attend, but those going were encouraged to bring cash as many of the stallholders would not have eftpos machines.
Siaosi thanked the sponsors and said the festival would be a great educational opportunity for many people.
“We are all learning here, and we know there are different cultures, but often we don’t know what they perform or what they eat. It’s nice for connection.”
He said another positive feature was a health check centre where people could have their blood pressure and blood glucose levels checked.
Feedback from last year’s festival was that some people would like it to happen twice a year, Siaosi said. However, for now, it would remain a yearly event. “It’s a lot to prepare.”