Family festival kicks off celebrations at Treaty Grounds

Waitangi Day festivities begin today at the Treaty Grounds, with a three-day family festival preceding Sunday's formal ceremonies.

Starting at 9am, the grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between Maori and the British Government will showcase traditional Maori games - pre-European activities designed to promote fitness for survival, weaving and weaponry skills.

The Royal New Zealand Navy band will play and teams will contest netball and cricket tournaments.

Tomorrow night an outdoor screening of Came a Hot Friday, featuring the late comedian Billy T. James, follows a performance by Northland kapa haka group He Tohu.

On Friday the two ceremonial waka housed at the Treaty Grounds will be launched.

The largest, the 35m Ngatoki Matawhaorua, needs around 120 paddlers and will feature in formal events on Sunday, a day expected to attract more than 15,000 people.

The festival was started last year to accommodate the growing number of families who chose to come early to enjoy the 506ha Waitangi National Trust estate.

Te Tii Marae, often the focus of protest on Waitangi Day, is a separate Nga Puhi marae nearby.

Asked whether the festival was intended to help deflect attention from the tensions often associated with Waitangi Day every year, trust spokesman Michael Hooper said that Waitangi would always be a place of discussion. "I like to think about it being a bit like needle and thread. Sometimes the needle pokes holes in things, but also pulls them together."

But he emphasised that the Treaty Grounds themselves were no place for protest.

The normal one-day Treaty Grounds admission fee for those aged 14 and over, $10, covers the three days of the festival; the grounds are free on Waitangi Day itself.

More information is available on (0800) 924-826 ext 217 or on the Waitangi website.