Central Lakes Polyfest 2018

The first Central Lakes Polyfest 2018 has been a huge success, say organisers.

Murihiku Maori and Pasifika Cultural Trust director Pauline Smith said the festival had been “fabulous”. The two-day festival featured performances from kapa haka school groups across Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes District, she said.

A number of parents’ faces were “quite tearful” when they saw their children perform, she said.

‘You can see they were really, really proud of their kids.”

The trust “absolutely” wanted to bring the festival back again as schools had “embraced the opportunity”.

Dunstan High School Kapa Haka group member Catherine Smit (15) said she was nervous but loved the opportunity to perform on the stage, and was still buzzing hours later.