Christchurch’s much-loved festival Culture Galore is set to return this weekend, celebrating the city’s diversity with a full afternoon of food, arts, crafts, and live performances.

The free event will be held on Saturday 8 March 2025 at Ray Blank Park on Maidstone Road, running from midday to 4pm.

Culture Galore brings together more than 30 cultures from across the city, with this year’s stage packed with performances showcasing traditional songs, dances, and music from around the world.

The event will open with performances from the Breens Intermediate Kapa Haka Group, the vibrant Qiao Yi Hong De Lion Dance Team, and vocal group HarmoniX, before a colourful cultural parade featuring participants from across the various communities.

Throughout the afternoon, the crowd will be entertained by a wide variety of local groups, including:

• Eastern Western Crew

• Bangaliana Christchurch

• Polonus Polish Folk Dance Group

• Christchurch School of Music Samba Band

• Christchurch Zhong Hua Chinese Society

• Bangla Dance Group

• MEXIdaNZ

• Madam Zhao Folk Dance Group

• Canterbury Fiji Social Services Trust

• Christchurch United Gymnastics Club

• Bangladesh Cultural Society Canterbury

• Kazakhstan Community Christchurch

• Ukrainian Association South Island

• Dekaworwor West African Drum Group

• Bharatanatyam Group of Christchurch

• Likok Pulo Nusantara

• Los Amigos

• Support for Development New Zealand

• Canterbury Indian Women’s Group

• Ritmo Pilipino

As well as the live performances, there will be a wide range of family-friendly activities, including flax weaving, face painting, soft archery, bouncy castles, and interactive demonstrations from emergency services, such as a police speed radar, fire evacuation challenge, and kitchen fire demonstration.

Registrations to take part in the event have now closed, with organisers confirming they have reached full capacity for all activities.