One of Geelong’s brightest celebrations takes place next month. Presented by Diversitat, Pako Festa is a day full of fantastic fun, music, dance and food. Expanding on that a little, Pako Festa is a street party combining cultural food, folk dancing, the famous Pako parade, workshops, art exhibitions, multicultural craft displays and entertainment on three world music stages in a 1-kilometre stretch. It also happens to be the largest free celebration of cultural diversity in Australia. Last year’s event attracted over 100,000 people, which is a familiar figure for this event, so you can expect numbers of that measure once again in ’15. At the time of writing 2015’s was yet to be unveiled, but if you keep an eye on pakofesta.com.au it should be up there soon enough. A highlight of the event, however, is the Pako Festa parade where dozens of community groups come together in their national dress. The Channel 7 Stage is another favourite; a meeting place for some of your favourite Channel 7 TV stars. Despite being in its 33rd year, Pako Festival continues to grow brighter each year. February 28 is the date to keep reserved. Again, keep an eye on the website above for details. 2015’s theme is ‘Different Therefore Equal’.
