The Oranga Community Centre recently celebrated Neighbours Day Aotearoa and Auckland Council’s World of Cultures festival with a series of pop-up style lunches running over a full week in late March. The shared kai was enjoyed by all, attracting local whānau from the Oranga neighbourhood and beyond! Community Centre resident cooks, Charmaine and Premila, prepared many free, culturally inspired dishes and everyone got stuck in and contributed. 

This collaborative community event was a true team effort with input from Oranga locals, Auckland Council and Kāinga Ora. Tess, Community Development Manager at Kāinga Ora said, “The Neighbours Day and World of Cultures celebrations at the Oranga Community Centre were initiated based on community feedback, to offer a space for local whānau to meet and get involved in fun, connecting activities. It really was a wonderful experience, seeing people come together to celebrate food and culture.” 

Each day, over the course of the week, the community came together to share stories and prepare a diverse range of recipes. There was traditional Māori boil-up, fried bread, spicy Indian veggie curries, and cassava dishes from Samoa. Nick Baldwin, Program Coordinator at Auckland Council, who helped organise the celebrations said, “It was an inspiring experience, seeing so many different people, of all ages come together to laugh, play, cook and share amazing food!”. 

Last year, Neighbours Day and World of Cultures was celebrated with many big events across Aotearoa and the Auckland region. This time around, with Auckland in the red traffic light setting, it wasn't possible to bring large numbers of people together. In place of a single big event, this year's smaller pop-up style series was chosen so that people could still get together while sticking to Covid-19 safety measures. 

The kaupapa of Neighbours Day Aotearoa is to encourage people to get to know their neighbour’s better. This year’s theme was Kai Connections - bringing people together with food. 

Auckland Council’s World of Cultures, is an annual two-week regional festival that celebrates cultural diversity, through food, dance and performance. Combining the two events in this year’s celebrations at the Oranga Community Centre was a great success. 

The Oranga Community Centre, will continue to offer local whānau a warm and welcoming space to connect, and over the April school holidays, will run a holiday programme, with lots of activities for kids and families. To find out more about what’s happening at the Oranga Community Centre follow them at facebook.com/orangacommunitycentre.

To see more of the Neighbours Day and World of Cultures celebrations, check out the gallery link below.