Whānau celebrate at the Maruawai Matariki Celebrations near Gore

Whānau were out in force at the Maruawai Matariki Celebration – whether they were performing on stage, catching up with friends or feasting on kai.

The event, which was hosted by the Hokonui Rūnanga at the Waimumu Field Days site, included performances from school kapa haka groups, bands, dance groups, displays from community groups, schools and the police, lots of food trucks and bouncy castles – all finishing off with fireworks to celebrate the Māori new year.

Large crowds were sitting watching the entertainment during the afternoon, and the Mataura School kapa haka group got a massive cheer for their Māori version of the Macarena.

As well as providing entertainment during the public holiday, the event was used to train tamariki and rangatahi, Rūnanga kaitoko matauranga Jo Brand said.

“As well as being a really cool whānau day out we’ve used it to create opportunities for young people, whether that be performing on stage, or training as an MC, in the sound and lighting areas, or volunteering as helpers,’’ she said.

“We have some very talented rangatahi here in Maruawai, and it’s great to see them involved in the celebrations, especially since it’s the school holidays, that’s hugely impressive.’’

The Rūnanga had organised the celebrations for the first time last year, when an estimated 5000 people attended.

”We’ve definitely got that this year and we could go close to doubling that, we’d love to see 10,000 here. It’s a great event for parents because with having the fireworks at 7pm you can still get the kids home early and have a nice night yourself,’’ she said.

Gore district mayor Ben Bell was at the celebrations.

“It’s fantastic, it’s great to see a southern version of Matariki celebrations,’’ he said.

“It’s really cool to see the community out and about, and so many people here when it is still school holiday time, and I’m looking forward to seeing the crowds get even bigger as we get closer to fireworks time,’’ he said.