Waikato Nesian Festival

The Waikato Nesian Festival, which started in 2009, was the first of its kind in the Waikato Region and has become the only annual Pacific festival in the Region. The word “Nesian” meaning a collected race of the South Pacific Islands encompasses all three different groups in the Pacific region: Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian, and also demonstrates the rich and diverse Pacific cultures within these groups. The Pan Pacific celebration has been filled with vibrant colors, music, cultural dances, languages, traditional Pacific food, arts and crafts over the years.