Toitū Te Reo: Māori language festival draws thousands to the streets of Heretaunga

The two-day Toitū Te Reo festival in Hastings kicked off on Thursday. Photo / Rawhitiroa Photography

About 7000 people have turned out for a world-first Māori language and culture festival in Hastings.

The Toitū Te Reo festival, celebrating Māori language and culture, kicked off on Thursday.

Locally-based language company Kauwaka, run by Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod, is running the event with support from Ngāti Kahungunu and the Hastings District Council.

The festival aims to promote Te Reo Māori’s status as an official language and unite all New Zealanders in recognising and honouring it.

It evolved from Te Reo ki Tua - The National Māori Language Symposium - which has been hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu for seven years in Heretaunga.

Symposiums for beginners, bilingual speakers and fluent Te Reo speakers were hosted across three stages, while a whakanene (variety show), with performances from artists including Rei, Seth Haapu, Mafia Dance Family and Tipene, was held on Thursday evening in Toitoi.

Organisers said ticketed events had nearly completely sold out and there was an estimated 7000 people who were attending.

There was still a wide variety of free events to enjoy, including wānanga, a rangatahi poetry slam, food stalls, information stalls, a kōhanga reo space, a parent’s retreat, an art trail, live demos, retail and street concerts from Okāreka Oro, Maimoa Music, Pere, Tawaz and others.

Māori activist Tame Iti speaks to an audience at Toitū Te Reo. Photo / Rawhitiroa Photography

The sold-out crowd at Toitū Te Reo on Thursday. Photo / Rawhitiroa Photography

Speakers at the festival included Tame Iti, Jenny May-Clarkson, Mike McRoberts, Scotty Morrison, Hone and Hilda Harawira, Sir Tīmoti Kāretu, Sir Hirini Moko Mead and Sir Pou Temara.

The festival aims to promote Te Reo Māori’s status as an official language. Photo / Rawhitiroa Photography