Thousands of people enjoyed international food and entertainment at the annual Southland Multicultural Food Festival on Saturday.
Tributes were flowing in from those invited to come along and be part of the special day, including the Southland Sri Lankan Society.
“It was meticulously planned and executed making it a resounding success, and a true celebration of cultural diversity,” the society said.
Southland Multicultural Trust community engagement and office manager Jo Wilson said it was lovely to have that sort of feedback after months of planning, by the team - made up of staff and 40 volunteers.
Held at the ILT Stadium Southland and co-inciding with International Race Relations Day on March 21, Jo said it was a real team effort and they had “well above” the numbers they got through the door last year.
“It was packed from start to finish,” she said.
Some of the food vendors sold out within hours, including the pretzel vendor Pretzelation, but those who had been coming for years now knew how to prepare for the crowds.
Mayor Nobby Clark attended along with National MP and Minister Penny Simmonds and Labour Otago MP Ingrid Leary.
The event has been going close to 20 years and included entertainment from O-taiko Japanese drumming group, Columbian cheerleaders, Filipino dancers, belly dancers, the Kiribati Catholic community dance group, and individual singers as well.
“There were some amazing performances this year and some new talent as well. I take my hat off to them.”
The trust will take a breather for a few months before they start planning the next one. But in between times they were also involved with other local initiatives for ethnic communities such as first aid training.
“Hearing the feedback gives you a real sense of satisfaction…we’ve done what we wanted to succeed.”