Otago Polyfest

20/09/2026

Lost property from our festival was handed in to Edgar Centre Dunedin NZ - something new popped up over the weekend though! Share with your whānau if you know someone who was looking for this shoe 💙

Fingers crossed the lady that phoned up who lost a wee Nike shoe at Otago Polyfest has facebook. Look what has been handed in to us.

17/09/2026

Always a crowd favourite He Waka Kōtuia has rangatahi representing Queen's High School King's High School and Te Wharekura o Te Rau Toroa 💙💙💙

We count ourselves extremely lucky to have had Pieter du Plessis Photography in the audience to capture some performers on Thursday night! If you haven't already go give his page a like and catch up on all the rōpū he has posted so far 🤩🛖💙🌺

16/09/2026

This post of our Polyfest Champion Nanny Mere has popped up on our feed again! Add a few more mokopuna to that total now, still as loyal of a supporter as ever she was with us again right through to our closing ceremony for 2026. Ngā mihi for all you have done and continue to do Nanny Mere

This is Nanny Mere Parata with 4 generations of her whānau, Nanny Mere has 58 mokopuna. Nanny has never missed a Polyfest and has been sending her love from the audience everyday this week!

14/09/2026

Shoutout to all the stallholders who joined us in The Village for this years festival! Otago Regional Council have supported our Village before we had even formalised The Village we have now and their stall was super popular once again. Ngā mihi for joining us and supporting the sustainability of our festival for years to come 💙🛖🌺

14/09/2026

This year, the focus for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is Te Reo Towns - a celebration of the communities who have kept te reo Māori alive, and an invitation for all of Aotearoa to help it flourish into the future.

From homes where Māori has always been spoken, to communities beginning their reo journey, every town, street, workplace and marae has a role to play in the future of te reo Māori. Big city or small town, te reo Māori is for everyone.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (long-time supporters of Otago Polyfest) and Te Mātāwai are inviting towns and cities across the motu to boost te reo Māori so it is heard, seen and lived during Te Wiki and beyond.

If you came past the Otago Regional Council stall in The Village you might have entered the draw for a Bee card top up and learnt more about the programme - if not, check out this video featuring one of our rangatahi Content Producers to show you how Bee Card works in our town.

Kia Kaha te Reo Māori 🖤❤️🤍

12/09/2026

The reach of Polyfest extends beyond a single performance, our stage or even the week we get together. What a lucky rest home that gets to see St Clair Corner's performance up close! We are as proud of these tamariki as their whānau are 💙🛖🌺

12/09/2026

We agree with Queen's High School, every year our rangatahi step it up another notch! It's uplifting to see kura proudly support their rōpū to get on the stage and celebrate their performances. What better way to uplift our next generation.

12/09/2026

The question on everyone's mind - where can I watch the livestream back?

The lovely team at The Video Factory Limited have made the Livestream version of Otago Polyfest 2026 in a Vimeo Showcase for you all to access. This also includes St Kevin's College: Te Kapa Haka o Hato Kēwini from when the livestream temporarily dropped out.

This will be available until we can get the individual groups up on the Otago Polyfest Youtube channel - follow the link to re-watch your favourite performances:
https://vimeo.com/showcase/12402920?share=copy&fl=sc&fe=fs

11/09/2026

We are always excited to see new schools, or returning schools expand on their rōpū taking the stage! Well done to Ngā Teina o Wairua Pūhou for their first stand and to all the hands that went into all the rōpū - you already know what we say - 💙🛖🫶

11/09/2026

🙌 That's a wrap 🙌

To finish off polyfest our kaimahi took the stage for a bit of a kanikani! 🤩

We truly appreciate all those who have been involved in making this week possible from our schools, to the community and beyond 🥰