Matariki Chinese Multicultural Festival 2020

The many cultures of West Auckland gathered together last weekend (subs July 19) to celebrate the Māori New Year in colourful style.The Matariki Chinese Multicultural Festival, is the first major event for the Auckland region’s wider diverse communities since New Zealand went into lockdown.

Hundreds of friends and whānau turned out to New Lynn’s Synergy Community Trust on Sunday for an afternoon of storytelling, singing and dancing performances, and cultural experiences. As well as Māori and Chinese, other cultures represented included Indian, Samoan and Hawaiian.Other cultural experiences included paper cutting, shadow puppets, painting and craft making; as well as children’s entertainment.

The festival was co-organised by Auckland’s Whau Local Board and Synergy Community Trust, as well as many local societies.

Among the VIP guests were Cabinet ministers Phil Twyford, Carmel Sepuloni and Jenny Salesa; Mr Ruan Ping, the Consul-General of China; several MPs, councillors, as well as Whau Local board members such as Dr Deborah Russell, Melissa Lee, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Dr Jian Yang, Paul Young, Tracy Mulholland, Kay Thomas, Susan Zhu; and many community leaders including Danny Wu, founder of Synergy Community Trust.