Pako Festa - A Celebration of Cultural Diversity

Pako Festa has been Victoria’s premier free multicultural festival for over 40 years. This annual community street festival celebrates cultural diversity and is the biggest of its kind in Australia! The event attracts crowds of over 100,000 people and is managed by Cultura and held on the last weekend of February in Pakington Street, Geelong West. This vibrant award-winning festival includes an extravagant street parade (kicking off at 11am) featuring a sea of colour and costumes with hundreds of performers bringing the street alive, representing local community groups. Pako Festa showcases cultural diversity - via a smorgasbord of authentic cultural food, folk dancing, a street parade, workshops and entertainment (on five world music and performance stages) in a one kilometre long street festival. The festival is an opportunity for local and regional cultural groups to educate the broader community of the beauty and enriching capacity of multiculturalism and community arts.