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With Marlborough’s first Welcoming Week in full swing, a little known, but big-voiced waiata group is gearing up to entertain the crowds at a special Lunch in the Square event on Tuesday.
Aubrey Tai and his Marlborough District Council colleagues will be performing as the council’s official waiata group at the pinic in the park-type event where shoppers and workers will have the chance to be serenaded while enjoying their lunch.
Tai, whose day job is as a catchment care co-ordinator for Te Hoirere Project said the group, known as Ngā Manu Tioriori – Song Birds, was initially set up to perform at the council’s citizenship ceremonies, but had since grown and diversified.
“We’ve now taken it a couple of steps further, added new material and have done a couple of public events, for instance the opening of the new library,” he said.
Anthony Phelps/STUFF
Aubrey Tai said he hoped to one day take Ngā Manu Tioriori to kapa haka competitions.
“In my role I meet with different iwi, and I’ve taken the group to support me when I’ve spoken at those events, and we’re trying to diversify the stuff we’re involved in.
“I’ve taken the group out onto a few of our local marae for some of the more formal events around some of the work that our people do, and they’ve supported us in the formalities around welcomes and pōwhiri and those kinds of things.”
The opening of Te Kahu o Waipuna, Blenheim’s new library, saw the group perform in front of Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni, other dignitaries and a crowd of about 100 who turned out on the day.
“We had some really great feedback from all sorts of people after the performance, and the group really enjoyed it,” he said.
Anthony Phelps/STUFF
Ngā Manu Tioriori are, from left, Fliss Morey, Deepti Shah Jiwani, Lavina White, Sonja Greenhill, India Hamill, Sandy Snell, Leanne Thomason, Linda Craighead and Aubrey Tai.
“What I love about this group is the mix of ethnicity and cultures, all coming together to celebrate being part of our Kiwi culture.”
Some of that new material would be on display during the group’s Lunch in the Square performance on Tuesday.
Tai, originally from the small Bay of Plenty town of Murupara, said that along with more traditional waiata, the group had added some newer, more contemporary songs to their repertoire.
“One is Pepeha, which is quite a popular Six60 song that we’ve kind of taken, and it’s a good song for us because there are English parts and there are Māori parts, so for a lot of the people at citizenship ceremonies who don’t understand many Māori words, you’re getting the best of both worlds.”
Supplied/Gavin Hadfield Photography
Members of the Marlborough District Council’s waiata group Ngā Manu Tioriori – Song Birds, perform at a citizenship ceremony in August 2023.
A variety of events welcoming newcomers to the region is set to take place across Marlborough throughout the week with the aim of bringing communities – both long time residents and new arrivals – together.
The events, catering for all-age groups and ranging from park runs to music, dance and performances from the many cultures that call Marlborough home, will be part of Immigration New Zealand’s annual Welcoming Week – Te Wiki o Manaaki (September 1-10) that aims to celebrate the different communities across Aotearoa.
Heather Barnes, welcoming communities co-ordinator at the council, said the events would give people the chance to make new connections in the community.
“We are very excited to have more than a dozen events happening throughout the week that celebrate our welcoming values and foster mutual understanding, create stronger connections, and a deeper belonging among all of us,” she said.
Other events taking place throughout the week include a movie night and a family open day at Conservation Kids NZ.
For a full list of events and information on how to get involved in Welcoming Week – Te Wiki o Manaaki 2023 go to: https://www.marlborough.govt.nz/our-community/welcoming-communities-te-waharoa-ki-nga-hapori/welcoming-week-2023
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