Pako Festa ends early due to heat

THIS year’s Pako Festa was held on a sweltering Saturday, with the event ending early due to the hot temperatures.

The annual celebration of Geelong’s multicultural community still featured the famous parade along Pakington Street, but organisers Cultura made the decision to stop the event at 2pm in the interests of public safety.

 

Cultura chief executive officer Joy Leggo said 50 floats and more than 2,000 people participated in the parade, and there were more than 100 stalls.

She estimated crowd attendance at 70,000, down on the 100,000 who attended in 2024.

“The heat impacted us, for sure. It was a challenging day,” she said.

 

“But gee, the vibe was pretty amazing. A lot of people came early; that’s been a bit of a change.

“The harmony of the whole event was terrific.”

 

She said it was disappointing about 30 of the 60 groups could perform on Pako Festa’s five stages because of the early finish, but plans were being drawn up to host some kind of community event later this year to give them a chance and acknowledge their efforts.

 

She encouraged anyone who attended Pako Festa this year to head to the website at pakofesta.com.au and fill out a survey.