Hasty reshuffle for Kaimoana Festival

HUGE RELIEF: Maureen Burgess experienced a "nightmare" 24 hours, hastily moving the Maketu Rotary Kaimoana Festival to the Te Puke A&P Showgrounds.PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER

Maketu may have lost its Kaimoana Festival after this weekend's event clashed with a tangi.

Organisers were told to move the event to another location due to a funeral held on the neighbouring Whakaue Marae.

A desperate ring-around yesterday by Maketu Rotary Club president Maureen Burgess succeeded in saving the six months of work and $20,000 that had gone into staging today's festival.

The seafood festival, originally booked for the council-controlled Maketu Sports Grounds, has been shifted to the Te Puke A&P Showgrounds.

Mrs Burgess said the body was laid on the marae on Thursday, the same day that Rotary members arrived at the park to make final arrangements for the arrival of facilities and stallholders. A woman walked across from the marae and told them to "piss off" because a tangi was in progress.

It was the second time in the eight-year history of the festival that it had come into conflict with a marae funeral.

Mrs Burgess said she would never again be willing to run the event next to the marae in case it clashed with a tangi.

"A lot of people want to keep it at Maketu, but if it is going to cause this conflict with the marae, then it is not viable."

Mrs Burgess was unsure about the protocols surrounding a celebration and a tangi taking place next to one another but she was relieved that they were able to secure the A&P Showgrounds at the last minute.

"We were very pleased, given the circumstances, that we were forced to make the change. We were not looking forward to keeping people safe."

The marae-owned sports ground was on long-term lease to the Western Bay District Council. Mrs Burgess spent two days getting supporting signatures from neighbours of the sports ground in order to obtain a consent from the council for the festival.

"Everyone was positive."

Mrs Burgess had her fingers crossed that they would repeat last year's 1500 attendance that saw Rotary raise $10,000 for Maketu community groups. "I am sure it will be a really good day."

Maketu Rotary Club member Charles Peni said the protocol controlling what happened next to a tangi depended on each marae. For instance, he recalled playing tennis when a high-profile person was lying in state on a neighbouring marae, without any offence being caused. He was also relieved that Rotary had found a new venue because it kept festival-goers safe.