Halo Halo Festival brings a free Filipino food and culture day to Christchurch on 14 November
Filipino News NZ's Halo Halo Festival comes to Cowles Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday 14 November 2026 as part of the Christchurch Southeast Asia Festival, with free entry from 11am to 5pm.
Christchurch's Filipino community has a big day to put in the calendar. The Halo Halo Festival, run by Filipino News NZ, is coming to Cowles Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday 14 November 2026. Entry is free, and the doors are open from 11am to 5pm.
A Facebook post shared by Ricky Fernandez announcing the event calls it "Christchurch's NEWEST MEGA Filipino festival & Business Expo". The event listing for the day presents the Christchurch Halo Halo Filipino Festival as a collaboration with Filipino News NZ, held as part of the Christchurch Southeast Asia Festival, which the listing says is coming to the city for the first time.
Visitors can expect Southeast Asian heritage food, including halal options, along with traditional Southeast Asian performances and a Southeast Asian business expo. The listing invites people to taste the flavours of countries across the region, including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.
The Halo Halo Festival website lists dishes such as halo-halo, empanadas, chicken inasal, adobo, lechon, kare-kare and kwek kwek, and says the festival focuses on heritage food, with each vendor bringing some of their regional specialties. The site also describes exhibition stands, a cultural theatre with traditional dances and cultural fashion shows, and a migrant expo with settlement support and community information stalls.
Halo Halo started out as the first major Filipino food festival in Auckland and now goes nationwide, according to its website, which lists Hamilton on 15 August, Auckland on 10 and 11 October, Christchurch on 14 November and Wellington on 5 December. Filipino News says it has been organising community and cultural events across Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch for over 20 years.
Businesses interested in an exhibition stall at the Christchurch event can enquire through the booking email given in the event listing, info@include.co.nz.
Key facts
- The Halo Halo Festival is at Cowles Stadium, Christchurch, on Saturday 14 November 2026.
- Entry is free, from 11am to 5pm.
- The Christchurch Halo Halo Filipino Festival is a collaboration with Filipino News NZ, held as part of the Christchurch Southeast Asia Festival.
- The day includes Southeast Asian heritage food (including halal options), traditional performances and a business expo.
Official sources
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