While free rides, and entertainment may have been a drawcard for some, for others yesterday's Waitangi Day Family Celebrations was a way to spend time with family, and remember the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Thousands of people enjoyed what was on offer at the annual Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park event yesterday.
Ngati Kahungunu Iwi, which runs the free celebration with support from the Hastings District, and Napier City Councils, says the event is to celebrate "178 years of nationhood" from the time chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi in the Bay of Islands.
Yesterday there was no shortage of activities, with children enjoying the free amusement rides as punters strolled from stall to stall - with the longest line outside one offering painted ta moko.
Hastings women Manila Haapu and Delia Ropiha said they came to the event every year - although previously had spent some of the day on stage performing kapa haka.