After a four-year hiatus, Opera in the Pā did not disappoint crowds that gathered tonight
for a truly Kiwi concert celebrating Waitangi Day.
Guests splayed out across the Arts Village lawn with picnics, blankets and folding chairs to soak up the last rays of sun on the last public holiday of the summer season.
![Summer Church and Geordie Gibson enjoy a picnic at the event. Photo / Ben Fraser](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/ZKFWQS6WBZY5EYSCLBP6DNN2BM.jpg?auth=669a5980993b67b2213058e9fc39cb248d6f2dc7279df2b429757182f775cf20&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
Māori Waiata and Pacific Island music was the main fabric woven with famous operatic tunes whilst Broadway star Turanga Merito entertained concert-goers as master of ceremonies.
Opening the event with a traditional pōhiri was director of Māori performing arts at Rotorua Boys' High School and cultural advisor for Tamaki Māori Village Jamus Webster who said it just felt like a picnic in the park with people stretched out in the sun.