Wellington’s first ever Southeast Asian Night Market came to town with a roar at the TSB Bank Arena on Saturday, 16 August. Some 15,000 people – many queuing for up to an hour – crowded into the venue on Queens Wharf to sample the sights, sounds and spicy flavours of a typical night market in Southeast Asia.

Highlights included food stalls, martial arts, traditional games, non-stop entertainment featuring performances by different Southeast Asian community groups, Indonesian puppetry and batik demonstrations.

“We have had very good community feedback, and I think there’s no doubt about the strong support for an annual Night Market,” said Asia:NZ’s director of culture, Jennifer King, who was one of the main organisers. “But we do think the event needs to move outdoors in summertime, maybe to Allen St and Blair St. In that way stallholders can cook on site, and there would be plenty of room for people to wander through the stalls and watch the stages.”

The free event was a joint project by Asia:NZ, Wellington City Council and the six ASEAN posts represented in Wellington - the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore - plus the Burmese and Cambodian communities. 

And this is a small sample of what visitors attending the Night Market enjoyed: 

 Images are not to be reproduced without the permission of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.