Last minute 3-week vacay in NZ. Randomly decided to fly into Auckland. From Melbourne, twas only a 3.5 hr flight. Lucky enough to have been in town for the annual Pasifika Festival just last Sat 12 March 2011. Simply sick, boss! Though I grew up in Toronto, the most multicultural city in the world, I've never seen so many Pacific Islanders in my life! Not in one place, anyway. The festival reminded me of Toronto's annual Caribana festival, only it was a celebration of the islands in the Pacific as opposed to islands in the Caribbean.
Vibrant. Colourful. Tropical. Rhythmic. Well-organized and well-maintained... with an ample amount of rubbish bins and public toilets. And located in the most appropriate park ever, Western Springs Park, a beautiful public space filled with palm trees, lush hills and a huge lake in the centre of it all. I was blown away by all this festival had to offer! Did I mention how good-looking Maori men are?! Haha. And dannnng you should have seen the queue at one of the food stands serving the vanilla ice cream served in a pineapple! I regret not tryin' one of dem thangs. Best: 1814's closing performance of live reggae on the Air New Zealand Int'l Stage. Perfect way to end off the day. Enjoy the slideshow!
If you like South Pacific entertainment, have you heard that Hawaii's Makaha Sons (on top of Hawaiian Music Scene for over 35 years) are coming to Toronto for two concerts this fall (sept 30 and Oct 1, 2011). There will be dancing by local Hula Schools (Halaus) and The Makaha Sons bring professional hula dancers with them from Hawaii. THe concerts will be in Toronto and tickets go on sale shortly. If interested contact me at tpitz@rogers.com and I can provide more information. You will love the entertainment and the people. The Makaha Sons came in 2009 and we have great audiences filled with lots of Polynesians, Phillipinos and Japanese.
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