More than 3,000 attendees flocked to the 2026 Multicultural Aoraki Festival, along with 83 stallholders. It is regarded as Timaru’s biggest day celebrating culture and one of the region’s most anticipated community events.
The festival features a wide range of cultural performances, international food, music, community stalls, and family activities. Held on the fields at Ara, food stalls showcased flavours from the Pacific, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, while cultural performances representing communities from around the world entertained the crowd.
The festival aims to bring people from different backgrounds together to celebrate, learn, and connect. Free entry and free activities, make the event accessible to everyone.
Organisers Multicultural Aoraki report that the festival helps to create a strong sense of belonging and community, with many people sharing how much they enjoyed learning about different cultures and meeting others from across the region.
This year they welcomed visitors and stallholders from outside South Canterbury, including Christchurch and Dunedin, showing the festival continues to grow in popularity.
Link to photos from the Timaru Herald
