Southland Multicultural Trust co-ordinator Meggie Barlett-McBride said the 13-year-old festival had one of its best turnouts on Saturday as more than 7000 people took the opportunity to taste food from a wide range of different cultures.
Festival attendees were entertained by an eclectic mix of cultural colour and music throughout the day as they enjoyed their international dishes.
The festival had been delayed from its usual early autumn slot because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the International Race Relations Day as well as the first day of the school holidays proved to be a good second choice for the event.
Mrs Barlett-McBride said she believed other events being held at the stadium, combined with the the start of the school holidays, contributed to the larger-than-normal crowd numbers.
Nearly all the vendors had sold out of their food by the end of the day.
However, despite the large turnout, the event would return to the its usual March time slot.
-- Toni McDonald
