Katikati is gearing up for the highly anticipated Pasifika Festival in the Bay set for November.
The festival will mark a decade of success with 35 performing groups from schools around the Bay set to perform at Katikati College. Groups will showcase their vibrant traditional costumes as they represent nations from all over the Pacific; including Tokelau, Niue, Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, Fiji and more.
35 stalls with traditional cuisine will make the expected 8,000+ attendees. What started as a passion project in 2015 where a group of Tauranga Moana Pasifika teachers united to solve the challenge of improving Pasifika achievement within school, Pasifika Festival in the Bay was born.
Melanie Cottingham, one of the original teacher organisers who was passionate about Pacific Education Excellence still feels blessed to work with an expanding organising committee of teachers and community members who also share the same passion.
“Some children have performed at all of the festivals since 2015, and watching how they grow in confidence and pride is so wonderful and powerful.”
“As researchers, we know that when Pacific students’ identities, languages, and cultures are visible and validated in school and classroom settings, they achieve greater education outcomes because they can be who they are at home, in the classroom,” says Ms Cottingham.
Jodie Rickard, Community and Strategic Relationship Manager of Western Bay of Plenty District Council says Pasifika Festival in the Bay is not just a celebration, but also an opportunity to support local Pasifika communities.
The annual event kicks off Saturday 2 November
