Cultural diversity was displayed in all its glory at Waitangi Day’s Multi Cultural Bite event in Ashburton.
The event is an ethnic celebration, now in its 11th year, and showcases food and culture from some of Mid Canterbury’s many migrants.
Some 23 stalls lined the area around the Ashburton clocktower on East Street for the four-hour event.
Stallholders, some dressed in national colours or costume, sold bite-size portions of food typical of the Philippines, Singapore, Samoa, Poland, Brazil, India and other countries. More than 13,000 food tickets were sold on the day, with many stalls selling out before the end.
The entertainment line-up included the Takumi Japanese Drumming Group, local Samoan and Filipino youth groups, the Christchurch Zhonghua Chinese Society dancers, Ashburton Silver Band and other performers.
The thousands of visitors on the day included local MP Andrew Falloon and Filipino-born National Party list member Paulo Garcia.