Sights and sounds of the Pacific
By BEN STANLEY - Waikato Times
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Waikato's Pacific community celebrated on Saturday with the first Waikato Nesian Festival.
The festival, which took place at Hamilton's Claudelands Park, saw more than 700 people enjoy an array of live performances and Pacific-orientated stalls.
More than 20 groups took to the stage, with performances ranging from traditional Tongan dances to hip hop performances by Hamilton urban dance group Kaotic Krew.
Event organiser Uieta Kaufasi highlighted a large group dance performance, involving 40 adults and children from Hamilton's Kiribati Islands community, as one of the memorable moments of the six hour event.
Ms Kaufasi said she was "overwhelmed" with the support the festival received from Waikato's Pacific community.
The festival was the result of a community development project from Hamilton's K'Aute Pasifika Trust.
"We have a diverse Pacific community (in the Waikato) ... and are trying to make a sustainable event for our community," Ms Kaufasi said.
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The government will fly it alongside the New Zealand flag at government sites, including the Auckland Harbour Bridge on Saturday - should city and district councils in the Waikato follow suit and fly the Tino Rangatiratanga flag from their buildings to mark Waitangi Day?
Emaciated cows were recently put up for sale at a Waikato saleyard. Do you think DairyNZ's Body Condition Score system, which is a tool to work out the condition of cows, needs overhauling?
