Our main celebrations taking place at the Hungarian Garden commemorate our national days, which are 15 March, 20 August and 23 October. It’s then we lay wreaths, sing our two countries national anthems, and once a year we also unveil new engraved pavers.
Hungary 1956–2026: 70 Years On official commemoration
24 October 2026, 2-4pm
Hungarian Garden, Cnr Molesworth and Hawkestone Sts
Bell tolling, anthems, speeches, wreath-laying, unveiling of new engraved pavers, and Hungarian hospitality. Our guests of honour include Deputy Mayor Ben McNulty, Chris Finlayson, Alan Duff, Chargé d’Affaires Ervin Folkmann, Zoya Kőszegi and István Tóth.
If the weather is good, the entire commemoration will be at the Hungarian Garden. After the official programme, we will stay on in the sunshine to enjoy each other’s company and finger food catered by the wonderful Hungarian restaurant Anzil. If wet weather drives us inside, we will head into the next-door Red Cross building for refreshments.
Hospitality is complimentary. Please rsvp to mmprsvp@gmail.com by 20 October if you plan to come. Everyone is welcome!
Hungary 1956–2026: 70 Years On Pilgrimage
23 October 2026, 5-6pm
Wellington City
Join us on foot as we visit places in central Wellington connected with the story of the Hungarian refugees who came to New Zealand after the Revolution. We will start by the Hungarian plaque on the Memorial Wall on the Wellington Waterfront walkway at 5pm and finish at the Hungarian Garden in Molesworth St.
Hungary 1956–2026: 70 Years On
22 October 2026, 6-9.30pm
Penthouse Cinema, 205 Ohiro Road, Brooklyn, Wellington
The first of three days of remembrance, celebration, and Hungarian hospitality in Wellington
The evening opens with an optional gathering over Hungarian nibbles and wine, followed by a panel discussion, Perspectives on a Revolution, reflecting on the meaning and legacy of 1956 – revolution, freedom, resistance, displacement and the experience of starting again in a new country. Our panellists are Chris Finlayson, Alan Duff, Zoya Kőszegi and István Tóth, with Zsofia Hellyer as moderator.
The discussion will be followed by a screening of the acclaimed Hungarian film Children of Glory (Szabadság, szerelem), set against the dramatic events of October and November 1956.
Programme
6.00pm – Hungarian nibbles and wine
$20 per person | Ticket required
6.45pm – Perspectives on a Revolution panel discussion
Free | Registration required
7.30pm – Children of Glory
Free | Registration required
Everyone is welcome – you don't need to be Hungarian or have any prior knowledge of the 1956 Revolution! Just make sure you register separately for each part of the programme you would like to attend on Humanitix.
Hungarian Dance House Evening
18 July 2026, 7-9.30pm
Moera Community Hall, Lower Hutt
This is a special, one-off opportunity open to all ages and levels to have some fun learning Hungarian dance steps from a visiting professional Hungarian folk-dancer. There will also be a light supper and refreshments. Entry is by koha, but for catering purposes we need to know numbers by Tuesday, 7 July – RSVP to mmprsvp@gmail.com.
March 15th in 2025 at the Hungarian Garden in Wellington
29 March 2025, 13:00-13:45
Magyar Millennium Park (Hungarian Garden), Wellington
We look forward to welcoming everyone to the Hungarian Garden on Saturday, 29 March 2025, at 1pm for this year's March 15th commemoration. There will be wreath-laying, a short cultural programme, and the unveiling of the new engraved pavers.
March 15th National Day Commemoration
17 March 2024, 3-4pm
Magyar Millennium Park (Hungarian Garden)
Join us this Sunday, 17 March at 3pm at the Magyar Millennium Park to mark Hungary’s March 15th national day, and to catch up with each other in the late afternoon sunshine afterwards. • Himnusz – Hungarian national anthem • Welcome – Milán Horváth, MMP Trustee • Petőfi Sándor: Dicsőséges nagyurak – poem recited by Anna Suhajda • Wreath-laying • New Zealand National Anthem • Mix and mingle... We will put out a table on which to put a plate of finger food to share – if you can bring one (no pressure). And we will provide cold refreshments.
Remembering 1956 and Celebrating our 20th Birthday
29 October 2023, 11-11.30am
Magyar Millennium Park (Hungarian Garden)
Welcome to everyone at the Hungarian Garden in Wellington to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and the Magyar Millennium Park’s 20th birthday! We will lay wreaths at the foot of the kopjafa and unveil new engraved pavers!
Hungarian Picnic
29 October 2023, 2-5pm
Avalon Pavilion, Avalon Park, 61 Taita Dr, Loqwer Hutt
Festivities celebrating the Magyar Millennium Park’s 20th birthday continue at the Avalon Pavilion in Lower Hutt. A range of traditional Hungarian foods including gulyás (goulash) and lángos (langosh) will be on offer, as well as sweet treats such as chimney cakes and slices of poppyseed or walnut roulades! There will be a competition in the Rubik’s Cube corner to see who is the fastest at solving the “Magic Cube”, as it was originally called. There will be Teqball – a more recent Hungarian invention – a football-based sport, played on a specially curved table. You will be able to see demos and have a go yourself. And of course, you can’t have a Hungarian afternoon without sampling some pálinka (fruit brandy) and even some Hungarian wine (if you’re over 18) or joining in a “dance house” (for all ages). There will be something for everyone!
March 15th National Day
11 March 2023, 2.30-3.30pm
Magyar Millennium Park
A simple commemoration on the 175th anniversary of the 1848-49 War of Independence to remember those who sacrificed their lives for freedom from tyranny.
65th Anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution
23 October 2021, 14:00-17:00
Magyar Millennium Park
About 50 of us gathered at the Hungarian Garden to remember those who rose up against Soviet oppression 65 years earlier. The new Hungarian ambassador, Dr Zsolt Hetesy, introduced himself and his family. Longtime community member Frank Vékony shared his personal memories of what it was like on the streets of Budapest in October, 1956. We laid wreaths at the Freedom Kopjafa and sung our two countries national anthems. And the beautiful weather made for a lovely afternoon catching up with old and making new friends, while enjoying highly popular and super delicious treats from the Hungarian restaurant, Anzil.
March 15th National Day commemoration
27 March 2021, 2.30-5pm
Magyar Millennium Park, then Loaves & Fishes Hall
More than 50 community members gathered at the Hungarian Garden to lay wreaths at the foot of the Kopjafa and unveil new engraved pavers. Afterwards we headed down to the nearby Loaves & Fishes Hall behind St Paul’s Cathedral, where outgoing Hungarian Ambassador, László Zsolt Szabó, gave a festive address, and we launched our long-awaited new website. The finger food catered by the Hungarian restaurant, Anzil, was immensely popular with everyone and made the mixing and mingling afterwards all the more pleasurable.