Residents are celebrating after the Tauranga Multicultural Festival attracted visitors in the thousands.

Attendees were welcomed in droves in exchange for a gold coin, and could celebrate the various cultures found in Tauranga from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, March 18.

This year's theme was "Awhihi Te Rito - Nuture the Young".

At the event, over 30 groups of people showed off their culture, followed up by many performances by college students and children.

There was also various cuisines, along with arts and crafts stalls to get involved in.

Multicultural Tauranga president Premila D'Mello says ethnic communities are "participating a lot more" which she sees as encouraging.

'For me the biggest thing is for the festival to come alive and people getting together and embracing each other's culture joyfully – that's really important," says Premila.

See more of the action below:

Photos: David Hall.