Celebrate Maori New Year at Matariki Festival 10

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Auckland City Council

Manukau City Council

North Shore City Council

Waitakere City Council

Celebrate Maori New Year at Matariki Festival 10

More than 100 events and activities “ from music concerts to a family kite day and a three-day Maori business symposium “ take place across Tamaki Makaurau during Auckland's regional Matariki Festival from 14 June to 14 July 2010.

Auckland, Manukau, North Shore and Waitakere city councils have worked collectively to present the Matariki Festival through the Maori arts development kaupapa Toi Whenua.

Heralded by the rising of the star constellation known as Matariki, the Maori New Year has always been an important time in the Maori calendar for connecting with and giving thanks to the land, sea and sky.

Traditionally a time for the community to come together to farewell those departed and acknowledge the year gone by, it was also a time to turn to the future, welcoming the new generation to the world and planning for the year ahead.

Matariki Festival 10 gives Aucklanders an opportunity to participate and experience a living cultural tradition with tangata whenua, celebrating our unique Maori heritage, nature, creativity and expression.

This year the festival opens with a dawn ceremony at Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) on Monday 14 June at 6am to welcome the rising of the Matariki star constellation.

New for 2010 is the Unitec Movies at the Marae “ an opportunity to see the highly acclaimed film Boy as well as short films at five marae around Auckland.

Music is a feature of Matariki Festival 10 with three music concerts in Auckland, Waitakere and Manukau. He Po Whakanui Music Night celebrates the music of the late Hirini Melbourne in a special concert in Henderson on Friday 18 June, while Stars of Matariki features soul songstress Maisey Rika and Manukau's own Betty-Anne Monga on Saturday 26 June in Manukau and in Auckland, Kora, Six60 and 1814 headline Native Noise 10 at Auckland Town Hall on Friday 9 July.

Kites of all shapes and sizes will take to the air for the New Zealand Post Manu Aute Kite Day at Takaparawha, Orakei on Saturday 10 July and the festival will close with the three-day symposium Nga Korero Tataki in Henderson which will feature a line-up of influential speakers discussing issues of economic sustainability.

The full programme of events and ticketing information is available at www.matarikifestival.org.nz

Matariki Festival is proudly sponsored by New Zealand Post, Unitec Institute of Technology, FLAVA and The Radio Network, Maori Television with the support of Creative New Zealand, THE EDGE and Tourism Auckland.

ENDS

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