Matariki ki Waikato: Weekend celebrations draw celebrity visitors to Hamilton

The annual kite day at the Hamilton Gardens proved again popular this year. Photos / Mike Walen, KeyImagery

The Matariki ki Waikato festival is going full noise as crowds gathered in Hamilton for numerous special events celebrating Matariki last weekend.

The events drew-in visitors from all over the central north island and included the launch of special art programme Toi o Te Tau Hou, the annual Matariki manu tukutuku kite day and the Mānawatia a Matariki concert at Hamilton Lake.

The free Mānawatia a Matariki concert at the Hamilton Lake Domain stage celebrated Matariki as a public holiday for the first time with a night of music, kapa haka, lights, kids activities, food and fun.

It featured performances by singer-songwriter Pianika Duncan, kapa haka group Te Pou-o-Mangātawhiri, and band Late 80s Mercedes.

For the launch of kaupapa Māori-designed art and culture project Toi o te tau hou last Saturday, June 25, Hamilton even hosted some celebrity guests from Rotorua as fashion designer Kharl WiRepa and Miss Rotorua pageant executive assistant Bobby Hignett attended the launch.

Other guests included Cook Islands community leader Queen Pa Upokotini Tepaeru Marie Ariki Vaka of Takitumu Rarotonga, Fiona Tarlton, indigenous innovator Patrick Salmon, Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate and Wintec kaumātua Tame Pokaia.

Image 1 of 23: The Family Matariki Kite day at the Hamilton Gardens Turtle Lake Hill last Sunday was well attended. Photo / Mike Walen, Keyimagery

Toi o te tau hou allows Māori and Pasifika artists to create pieces that speak to the reverence of their relationship with ngā atua (the gods) and te taiao (nature).

The project sits within the context of the national revitalisation of Maramataka (lunar calendar) and allows established and emerging indigenous artists to preserve Matariki heritage through traditional and contemporary practice.

Annually 10 Tuakana (established) and 10 Teina (emerging) artists will be selected by an independent panel to participate in this art project.

The family kite on Sunday at the Hamilton Gardens Turtle Lake Hill was also well attended.

Kids loved the colourful kites and had fun letting them fly. Māori used kites as a communication tool that also carry a symbolic meaning as they reach up to the stars spiritually connecting heaven and earth.

The Friends of the Hamilton Gardens has held this community event under the Matariki ki Waikato festival umbrella since 2017.

Every year the event has grown larger as more families join in the celebration of Matariki kite making and flying. The Friends say they once had up to 1000 visitors take part in this event, some travelling from as far as Auckland and Wellington.

Matariki ki Waikato events continue to run until July 17.