The world’s biggest celebration of Pacific culture returns this weekend (March 9-10) at Western Springs. Will you be there?

Hands up if you consider yourself a culture vulture. You never miss the New Zealand International Film Festival, attend the odd play, love ballet, take the kids to museums, art galleries.

Or maybe you skip the culture pages in the Sunday papers but you have been on your big OE and “did Europe” … the Louvre in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, the bulls in Pamplona, Gallipoli in Turkey, and a very long etcetera and you found it bloody amazing … stories to tell your kids and grandkids, galore.

Europe’s fantastic like that, isn’t it? Drive a few hours in one direction and you’re in another country with a totally different culture, cuisine, language, way of life.

Now that really is culture, with a capital C.

Yet, here you are, living in the biggest Polynesian city in the world and you’ve not once, not once been to the Pasifika Festival again at Western Springs this weekend.

It’s a festival that is annually attended by 200,000 people,which is a lot, but Auckland has a population of more than one and a half million.

That’s an enormous lot of people missing out on a blast of culture in all its shapes and sizes that you will not find anywhere else in the world. No, uniquely, only here in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. So why isn’t everyone there? Especially those culture vultures who love to travel and see the world and experience other cultures but won’t try a sapasui at the markets. Is it because of the feeling that it’s not like culture, culture? You know what I mean like, The Pantheon in Greece, or The Vatican, StoneHenge … 

Pasifika Festival is a melting pot of cultures on every Aucklander’s doorstop. And it’s a representation of Aotearoa’s reality. The normal suspects will be there – 11 countries are represented in their villages – and  thankfully there’s plenty of the festival “normal”, visual and aural feasts for the eyes and ears in the form of the colourful, vibrant, traditional and contemporary singers and dancers; artisans providing all sorts of amazing works, from black pearl jewellery to floral headdress; and cooks, yes, yummy, yummy cooks who will have you salivating over dishes  you’ve never dreamt of, cooked in ways that make you go mmm.

But that’s just the “normal”. To shake it up a bit this year the world class, hip-hop outfit, The Royal Family, courtesy of Parris Goebel, will be strutting their stuff. Then there is the tribute to reggae icon Bob Marley by Unity Pacific – activist and musician Tigilau Ness, son Che Fu and other talented family members prominent in this ensemble for your entertainment.

So yes, Europe is amazing, all that fascinating, foreign culture just a few hours’ drive away from one country to the next. This weekend, it’s all only a few minutes’ walk away.

Us brown people are not going anywhere. We will always be part of the fabric of this city, your rugby teams, your work places, hell, even your families. Make that first step you’ve never thought to make.

Pasifika in Aotearoa have learned all about European cultures. We’ve emigrated, we’ve left behind many of our ways in order to adapt, we’ve left behind family, we’ve given up all that, and our language too. We know Pākehā culture or at least we’re learning it. Where’s the reciprocity, the exchange? What could you lean about our cultures in return? We know palagi time, work hours being guided by the clock, not the weather, and you know that we’re good rugby players.

Pasifika Festival is your festival, Aotearoa. Celebrate it! Claim it as yours. It’s part of our shared experiences so you too should be proud of it. Learn how to make panipopo and oka and coconut jam and cocoa rice … all Sāmoan, the best ones, obviously. Hahaha. Obviously not! No, there’s Rarotongan donuts, otai, lu-sipi, Fijian curry and lovo and many, many more beautiful dishes and dances you can learn off us.

We’ve been far too separate. It’s time we came closer together. But we can’t always be the ones taking that step closer. It’s your turn now, watch how much fun it’ll be, we’re dying to share. Pacific people are always be open to sharing our culture, we love it when you show interest in it. We’re so proud of it yet in New Zealand society we get so little opportunity to really show it.

For this weekend at least, we can. We’ve got Pasifika, and you know what?

It’s yours. And mine. And ours.

This is Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ On Air.