New Zealand aroma

If you’re heading downtown this weekend, be prepared for culture shock.

Main Street will be closed for A Taste of New Zealand, a showcase of the South Pacific island group’s culture. It touches on multiple aspects of Huntington Beach’s sister city, Waitakere City, New Zealand.

It will be a crash course in New Zealand’s unique brand of arts including dance, cooking and film.

“It’s kind of bringing a new culture down to Main Street,” said the event’s planner, Nova Punongbayan of the Economic Development Department at City Hall.

The two-day Taste of New Zealand will also serve as the final trial street closure in a city study to consider permanently closing Main Street and opening it as a promenade.

A delegation of more than 30 representatives from Waitakere will be in Huntington for the event. “This has really been a cross-national event,” Punongbayan said.

The Te Manawa Maori Dance Troupe will showcase the Polynesian dancing of New Zealand’s native Maori population.

The group was founded in 1990 and has toured North America presenting traditional Maori dance, or Maoritanga.

Shows will be at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Traditional Maori visual art will also be represented. Blaine Te Rito will be on hand with examples of his carving. Te Rito works with the New Zealand government to promote their cultural arts, such as the intricate masks he carves.

Te Rito will be demonstrating carving techniques, or whakairo, while he creates a sculpture that will become a permanent fixture on Main Street.

After the success of the “Lord of the Rings” films, movie making is becoming a dominant industry in New Zealand. A series of Kiwi short films will play in an outdoor theater throughout the weekend including “Watermark,” “Kerosene Creek,” “A Very Nice Honeymoon,” and “Hawaikii.”

There will also be a screening of “The World’s Fastest Indian,” which is a dramatic retelling of the story of New Zealand native son Burt Munro. Munro, played by Anthony Hopkins, broke the land speed record on an Indian brand motorcycle.

The screening is at the Pierside Surf City Cinema at 9 p.m. Director Roger Donaldson will be at the screening for a Q & A session after the film.

To celebrate New Zealand’s cooking styles, there will be food galore, created by 10 chefs from the Pacific islands. Free food tastings up and down Main Street as well as wine tastings. Proceeds from the wine tastings will benefit the Surf City Kiwanis Club. Some local restaurants on Main Street will also have specials on New Zealand fare.

Punongbayan says the festival is an opportunity for Huntington to experience another culture that many know little about. It may also encourage a little international tourism from New Zealand. Either way, it is sure to be a unique event.

“Is there another New Zealand festival?” Punongbayan said. “Not that I can think of.”

IF YOU GO

What: A Taste of New Zealand

When: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday ; 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Main Street between Orange Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway.

Information: www.surfcity-hb.org/ tasteofnewzealand