Before we got on the bus to go to Polyfest the Kāhu students were split into groups with some Kāhu teachers and adult volunteers in charge of them.
On the bus was not what I imagined; I thought it was going to be a smooth & lengthy ride. But instead, the teachers had the AUDACITY to say that each row of two seats needed to have 3 STUDENTS SITTING THERE… Obviously since each section of seats were made specifically for 2 people it was uncomfortably squishy; even worse was that I was legit hanging on for my life on the edge, as the bus switched directions I had to hold on to the handle on the left top corner of the seat in front of me.
At Polyfest we were first led to a stage sort of hiding in the back from all the food markets where we had to be separated by schools since we weren’t the only school visiting Polyfest. Then an adult announced we’d first have a tour around the markets whilst following a flag so that we don’t get lost; I swear to god they purposely made us walk around the stalls to make us hungry (the food smelled so damn delicious).
After, everyone came back to the stage to see a few police officers that came to select some people to play some activities (one student from each school) on the stage and then gave them a few prizes afterwards. There were also firemen that were there to inform us that if we didn’t have a fire detector in our house they would gladly be able to help us install one for free if we called them. Continuously, a few more people came on to the stage to sort of ‘advertise’ to all the students.
Later then I FINALLY got to see the actual concert stage that we had already passed like 3 times during our little walking trips which showcased dances from different cultures; the whole point of coming to Polyfest in the first place. All the students had to sit on the grass covered ground to admire the performances that included Chinese, Punjabi, Philippine, and etc dances I don’t quite remember.
Lastly, there was also a ‘Māori Stage’ we watched where I think it was high school students performing hakas and lots of Māori songs.
My visit to Polyfest wasn’t too bad because although all the shows were so amazing they gave me goosebumps, I had to sit, stand, and walk under the SCORCHING HOT SUN for maybe around 4-5 hours.