Traditional events
The most famous of all cultural festivals is undoubtedly the “Heiva i Tahiti”, a big traditional celebration that starts on June 29 at the same time as the Autonomy Celebrations. It runs for a month and includes the National Holiday of 14 July.Events over this period are sumptuous and are characterized by heated contests between the best artistic groups with singing, dancing and their costumes, not to mention the sports contest of canoe racing, javelin throwing, copra preparation, stone lifting and weaving etc…
The heart of the people is also to be found in the “Crafts Heiva” that runs concurrently with these events with exhibitions and demonstrations of all forms of craftwork from the five island groups together.
The rest of the year is studded with various cultural events organized by the very dynamic crafts, horticultural and cultural clubs. Sports play a growing role with unsurpassed international fame in surfing and canoe racing in particular.
