This dissertation examines the relationship between culture and the celebratory performance of culture in a multi-cultured and socially heterogeneous community. The specific focus for this dissertation is a study of the experiences of youth and educators at Jandals High, an urban New Zealand secondary school, during their involvement with the 2003 ASB Auckland Secondary Schools' M aori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, referred to as "Polyfest." My research examines the various ways that 'culture' is perceived, transmitted, and acted upon by festival participants who occupy different social roles at the school. My dissertation contributes to discussions regarding the ways that 'culture' becomes manifest and meaningful through 'cultural performance' because it details specific relationships between material cultural expression, people's individual perceptions of culture, and the structural factors that define these ideas in a local, yet diverse, context. By focusing on the connection between performance and culture, my work provides further ethnographic insight into the contemporary anthropological debate regarding the theoretical concept(s) of culture, specifically with respect to the seemingly innocuous, though highly politicized, social policies surrounding multiculturalism and cultural diversity in the modem, global nation-state.

Polyfest creates a space where it is possible to see the multiple and overlapping structures involved in building a New Zealand-born Pasifika experience and also allows youth to be active participants in creating shared experiences which shape their identities in an urban New Zealand context. Throughout my analysis, I argue that the cultural symbols and meanings that are presented during Polyfest reflect a Pasifika, or contemporary pan-Pacific identity, which represents the experiences of most festival participants. My data also indicate that Western cultural values and expectations remain the implicit, transparent foundation of all school activities. By closely following people who represent different socio-cultural backgrounds and different social roles in this school community, my research examines how school policies regarding multiculturalism and minority youth education were highlighted by the school's overt support of the festival. The immediate experiences of the members of the Jandals High community speak to local, national, and global debates concerning immigration, education, and the globalization of culture.