Tribal Gathering: The Goroka Show

Festival Essentials

Where: Goroka, Papua New Guinea, Pacific
When: Alternate year in mid September
Happenings:Gathering of 100 of PNG’s tribes for a display of music, dance and culture
Remember to bring: An outfit and face paint like a bird of paradise

Where’s The Party?

Papua New Guinea lies to the North of Australia. The highland town of Goroka is the venue for the alternate annual show that celebrates the culture of the indigenous tribes.
In even numbered years only, the Goroka Show usually takes place on the weekend nearestIndependence Day (16th September).

What Happens at the Goroka Show?

The Goroka show is partly a tourist event, but it’s a rare opportunity for travellers to experience the customs of over a hundred tribes that populate the Papua New Guinea highlands. During the course of the weekend the tribes gather for music, dancing, showing-off and extraordinary displays of tribal rituals.

What’s the History of the Festival?

The Goroka show was started in the mid 1950s by the first missionaries who came to Papua New Guinea. They wanted to prevent the tribes from fighting each other and though that tribal displays would diffuse hostile relations.