CULTURAL EVENTS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Papua New Guinea’s unique and untouched culture will exceed all your expectations. In remote villages throughout Papua New Guinea you can find tribes that passionately maintain their individual heritage through their art, sing sings, dancing and initiations. Visit for example the Baining Fire Dancers near Rabaul and the Asaro Mud Men and Huli Wigmen in the Highland regions. These tribes in their traditional clothing and colourful make up love to perform and welcome visitors into their fold to learn more about the customs of their tribe.

Visits to these villages will also provide you with plenty of opportunities to see and in some instances purchase primitive art, timber carvings, masks (decorated with hair, shells, pig tusks), string bags (bilums), crafts, hand dyed Tapa cloth, woven baskets, penis gords and clay pots - and endless opportunities for fantastic, very colourful holiday shots.

If you seek a true cultural explosion of colour and sound then take the opportunity to go to one of the regular festivals: The Goroka and Mt Hagen Shows are world famous but also consider the Canoe Festival in Alotau, the Yam Festival in the Trobriand Islands or the week-long Malagan Festival in Kavieng - any one of which will provide you with an unforgettable experience of large numbers of colourful, often raucous, tribes performing en-mass (in some instances this means thousands of participants).

FESTIVAL AND EVENT CALENDAR:

April

Gogodala Canoe Festival
30 April & 1 May
Balimo - Western Province
Cultural Events

May

Kangal Festival
29 - 30
Saidor- Madang Province

June

Madang Festival
5 - 8
Madang Show Ground- Madang Province

Wawin National High School Cultural Day
9
Warwin High School - Lae, Morobe Province

5th Gulf Mask Festival
12 & 13
Toare Village- Kerema

July

Warwagira Provincial Cultural Festival
8 - 14
Rabaul - East New Britain Province

15th National Mask Festival
15 - 18
Rabaul - East New Britain Province

New Ireland Cultural Day
23
Port Moresby - National Capital District

Malagan Show 23 - 27
Kavieng Town- New Ireland Province

Kontu/Tembin Shark Calling Festival
30 July - 2 August
Kavieng- New Ireland Province

August
Namatanai Mini Mask Festival 5 - 8
Kavieng- New Ireland Province

Mona Festival
13 - 15
Bouganville- North Solomons Province
Mt. Hagen Cultural Show
16 - 17
Mt. Hagen - Western Highlands Province

September
8th National Garamut & Mambu Festival
5 - 6
Wewak - East Sepik Province
3rd Garamut & Mask Festival
9
Rofudogmu Village- Wewak

1st Middle Sepik Festival
11 - 12
Pliambe Village- Wewak

Chral Festival District SHow
10 - 13
Kokopo- East New Britain Province
5th Bilasim Skin Festival
12, 14 & 15
Goroka- Eastern Highlands Province

Kokopo District Cultural Show
14 - 15
Kokopo- East New Britain Province

1st Kalam Cultural Show
18 & 19
Simbai - Madang Province

October
Morobe Show
31 Oct - 1 Nov
Lae - Morobe Province

November
6th National Canoe and Kundu Festival
6 - 8
Alotau - Milne Bay Province

National Arts & Craft Exhibition
13 - 15 November
Port Moresby - National Capital District

December
2nd Sel Kambang Festival
3 - 5
Vanimo- West Sepik Province

2010 FESTIVALS CALENDAR

January
1st - New Years Day

April
Gogodala Canoe Festival
Balimo, Western Province
May

PNG Coffee Festival & Trade Fair
Goroka, Eastern Highlands

June
Tufi Cultural Show – Tufi Dive

July
7th – 13th: Warwagira Provincial Cultural Show
Kokopo, East New Britain Prov.
14th – 17th: 16th National Mask Festival
Kokopo, East New Britain Prov.

Malagan Show
New Ireland Province

Shark Calling Festival
New Ireland Province

August
Enga Cultural Show
Enga, Wabag Province

Namatanai Mask Festival
Namatanai
11th & 12th: Ambunti Crocodile Festival
Ambunti, East Sepik Province

Mt Hagen Cultural Show
Western Highlands Prov

September
Garamut na Mambu Festival
East Sepik Province
Hiri Moale FestivalCentral Province
17th, 18th & 19th: Goroka Show
Eastern Highland Prov

October
23rd & 24th: Morobe Agriculture & Cultural Show
Lae, Morobe Province

November
Kundu & Canoe Festival
Alotau, Milne Bay Province