Ambassador Rata attends Sacheon International Percussion Festival

Ambassador Patrick Rata meeting with Strike in Sacheon.

In the context of the 2012 Korea-New Zealand Year of Friendship, Ambassador Patrick Rata was guest speaker at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Sacheon International Percussion Festival held in Sacheon City, South Gyeongsang Province on 2 August. Over four days, forty percussion groups from 13 countries presented a variety of percussion performances. Following their commanding performance at the International Percussion Festival in Seoul, the high energy New Zealand drumming group “Strike” held the Sacheon audience spellbound during their opening night performance. In his remarks, Ambassador Rata congratulated the Mayor of Sacheon and the organizers on a magnificent occasion and highlighted Strike’s participation as a wonderful opportunity to emphasize the close and friendly ties between New Zealand and Korea. Ambassador Rata also had an opportunity to interact with high-level officials from the region including the Mayor of Sacheon.