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As the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar) brings us into the month of Pipiri, preparations for Matariki celebrations across the Hibiscus Coast and Mahurangi are well underway.
This year, Matariki celebrations run from the end of June to mid-July, with the public holiday observed on Friday, July 10.
Festivities begin on June 30 with Estuary Arts’ Matariki Group Exhibition, which runs until July 26. The centre also invites friends and whānau to the formal exhibition opening on July 4, where people can design their own Matariki star.
On July 2, Ōrewa College, Whangaparāoa College and Mahurangi College, will host a joint Matariki celebration on the Mahurangi College campus. The event will feature cultural performances, including kapa haka and Pasifika groups, along with food stalls, fundraising activities and a pōwhiri.
The Mahurangi Winter Festival of Lights follows on July 4 from 3pm to 9pm, with live music, rides, food trucks, glow-in-the-dark face painting, a disco dance floor and a tunnel of lights. ITSS Engineering’s Angel Wings competition offers participants the chance to win a $500 Pak’nSave grocery voucher.
Tamariki aged 8 to 13 can get involved on July 7 with a lantern-making workshop at Warkworth War Memorial Library, ahead of a family lantern walk along the Mahurangi River Boardwalk on July 9.
On Friday, July 10, the pre-dawn community ceremony Matariki Ahunga Nui, led by Te Herenga Waka o Ōrewa Marae, takes place at Ōrewa Surf Club and along Ōrewa Beach. The ceremony includes hīmene, karakia and mihimihi, remembrance of departed loved ones, prayers to the stars of Matariki, waiata, telescope viewing of the Matariki star cluster and a knowledge-sharing lecture. Attendees can also reflect on the past year, set intentions for the year ahead, share kai and welcome the new waka ama team to Ōrewa Beach.
Celebrations continue on July 11 with Ngā Pūrākau o Matariki at Ōrewa Library, featuring stories, songs and interactive activities for children and whānau. The following day, volunteers will take part in the Puhoi Riverside Planting Day, helping restore native vegetation along the river through kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and mahi ngātahi (working together).
The season continues on Wednesday, July 15 with a special performance at Ōrewa Library by local musician Riqi Harawira, featuring original and traditional waiata Māori with taonga pūoro, alongside acoustic versions of his recent releases: e hara i te mea, Rerenga wairua and Kapioioi.
Te Herenga Waka o Ōrewa Marae committee member Estefania Muller Pallarès says Matariki is a time to come together, honour loved ones who have passed, reflect on the year gone by and look ahead with hope.
For those unable to attend an event, the Matariki star cluster can still be viewed before dawn from a dark location with a clear view of the north-eastern horizon, just to the left of Tautoru (Orion’s Belt).
A new star to steer by
Gulf Harbour has a striking new landmark just in time for Matariki. Silverdale steel fabricator Dean Morris of Fabrication Specialists has created Te Kapehu Whetu – the Star Compass – a steel sculpture whose 32 outer waves represent the traditional horizon houses used by Polynesian navigators to cross the Pacific. The design honours the stars, including Matariki, that guided waka across open ocean. The sculpture is one stop on the Whangaparāoa Treasure Hunt, a 13km coastal trail conceived by Sarah Carr, running from Gulf Harbour Marina to New World Whangaparāoa with QR codes, local history, competitions and business specials. Details at businesswhangaparaoa.co.nz/treasure-hunt
