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'We're One Of The Heartbeats In This Community': Otago Polyfest Misses Out On Funding
['New Zealand Government', 'New Zealand Labour Party', 'Green Party', 'Act New Zealand', 'New Zealand Governmen...', 'Conservative Party', 'New Zealand Police', 'Ruapehu District Council', 'Unicef Nz']
Scoop NZ - Regional
'We're One Of The Heartbeats In This Community': Otago Polyfest Misses Out On FundingAugust 11, 2026Otago's annual Māori and Pacific cultural festival is facing an uncertain future after the 33-year-old festival missed out on multi-year Government funding.
Otago Polyfest co-chair Ange Kiore said there was "a level of uncertainty going forward", but the festival would continue.
Laufiso said the organisation understood the pressure on arts funding but wanted the overall pool increased.
Throughout its 33-year history, Otago Polyfest has run every year apart from one during Covid-19.
Despite the funding uncertainty, Kiore said Otago Polyfest would continue.