Each year, Manukau City Council marks Matariki with a month-long series of celebrations.
The official Matariki ki Manukau opening, a day-long gala event for families, runs at the Auckland Botanic Gardens, Manurewa, until 6.30pm and this year’s headline event, Stars of Matariki, is a dinner and show featuring Anika Moa, Maisey Rika and Betty-Anne at TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre on Saturday, June 26.
They will be joined by taonga puoro performers and special guests.
Maori services librarian Raewyn Paewai encourages residents to join in the celebrations at Manukau’s libraries with have a varied programme of activities including the Matariki Tiki Hunt and talks, while Manukau Parks has guided walks where people can spot glow-worms or learn about the city’s history.
“The events are a great opportunity for people to come together, acknowledge the past, honour the present, share ideas and celebrate the new year ahead,” Paewai says.
Nigel Borell, the council’s Maori arts manager and Kaiwhakahaere for Toi o Manukau, says the Matariki period is a chance to reflect on the past year while looking forward to the next, an idea described by the guiding whakatauki (proverb) “hoki whakamuri, kia anga whakamua” (“look to the past in order to forge the future”).
Manukau’s art galleries are presenting work by some of the country’s most prominent artists, with the theme of the Maori New Year evident in each of the exhibitions.
Forthcoming events include:
• An exhibition of work by Fred Graham and Brett Graham as part of the Auckland-wide Te Taumata exhibition series, an initiative of Toi Whenua, at Nathan Homestead, Manurewa.
• Fresh Gallery Otara presents Native Coconut, an exhibition combining the work of three visual artists who share a Maori and Pacific Island cultural heritage.
• He Whitu, Te Whetu o Te Tau, at Mangere Community Arts Outreach Service, pairs established Manukau artists with a younger one to present work in recognition of another yearly cycle.
• The Stars of Matariki concert and dinner is on Saturday, June 26, from 7pm, at the Genesis Energy Theatre, TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre. Tickets are $30 for table seating (including full buffet dinner), $15 gallery seating (without dinner). They are available from the centre’s box office, or phone 0508-438-3687.
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