Pasifika Festivals Aotearoa launched this week as the first national digital hub for Pacific festivals in New Zealand.
The launch, by registered charity Pasifika Festivals Aotearoa Incorporated Society (PFA Inc), coincides with Matariki “to acknowledge the shared values of community, renewal, and cultural celebration that underpin both Pacific and Māori festival traditions”.
The website features a national festival calendar of more than 40 Pasifika festivals, from internationally acclaimed festivals such as ASB Polyfest to grassroots festivals across the regions. It also acts as a hub to support the leaders and teams behind these festivals, designed “to build long-term capability across the Pacific festival ecosystem”.
“Large and small, festivals across Aotearoa are beacons for society. They elevate and uplift our people throughout the year, bringing together everyone, from our mokopuna to our matua,” says Pip Laufiso, PFA Inc Chairperson and Otago Polyfest General Manager.
“When our cultures, languages and identities are celebrated and shared, everyone benefits.”
PFA Inc is funded by Creative New Zealand and was established in 2024, building on the foundations of the Pacific Festivals Initiative (PFI) – a three-year programme from 2020 to 2023 that supported Pacific festivals facing financial hardship and uncertainty as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Upcoming festivals featured on the website include:
• Pasifika Fusion | Secondary School Pacific Festival — Palmerston North, 1–2 July
• Whau Pasifika Festival — West Auckland, 2–11 July
• Pacific Dance Festival presents Matariki Celebration of Kapa Haka, Music & Dance — Kerikeri, 12 July
• Tu Tagata Secondary Schools Poly Festival — Wellington, 24 July
