Matariki 2024: Celebration events being held throughout Central Hawke’s Bay

There will be fireworks, art and dancing at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Sports Park this Matariki.

Matariki is Māori term for the Pleiades star cluster, and the eponymous holiday is a celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. It signals the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar.

This year’s theme, announced by Mātauranga Matariki chief adviser Professor Rangi Matamua earlier this month, is Matariki Heri Kai - the feast of Matariki.

“‘Matariki Heri Kai’ is a proverb that speaks [of] the association between the appearance of Matariki and the bounty of the impending season,” he said.

“The different stars in the Matariki cluster have an association with the various domains from which we source our food, in particular gardens (Tupuānuku), forests (Tupuārangi), fresh water (Waitī) and ocean (Waita). This connection encourages us to consider our role in protecting and caring for these ecosystems.”

The Hawke’s Bay coast will light up on the night of June 28 as the Matariki Mahuika event commences, at which hundreds of driftwood fires will be lit amid a celebration focused on whānau connection, community collaboration and storytelling.

In Hastings that same night, the event Kai Hau Kai Matariki: Celebrate Matariki Hastings will involve fireworks, art and dancing at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Sports Park.

Matariki ki Takapau 2024 will be celebrated at the Takapau Town Hall from 10am-2pm on Friday, June 28.

The event will include fundraising for a public-access automatic external defibrillator (AED), and Takapau will be treating the public to stalls and, in collaboration with Takapau Op Shop (all their earnings will go to the Takapau Health Centre), this year’s feature event - a fashion show and auction which starts at 1pm. All welcome.

Friday evening will see the Matariki celebrations brought to Mataweka Marae in Waipawa, where a hāngī will be prepared from 9am and guests will be treated to an early dinner when the hangi is lifted in the evening.

On Monday, July 1, there will be a dawn ceremony at Pukekaihau Pā in Waipukurau at 6.45am to welcome Matariki rising, and in the evening there will be a lantern ceremony at A’Deane Park, Waipukurau from 6pm to remember loved ones who have passed on. Everyone is welcome to attend.