Kites Link Heavens and Earth for Matariki

Kites Link Heavens and Earth for Matariki This Weekend

Hundreds of colourful kites take to Auckland skies this Saturday for New Zealand Post Manu Aute Kite Day as part of Matariki Festival 10.

The free family event at Orakei Marae includes traditional kite making displays, storytelling, lessons in poi and Maori games, and everyone is encouraged to bring kites to fly.

Matariki Festival 10 producer Mikki-Tae Tapara says kite flying has a highly symbolic connection to Matariki with kites seen as the connectors between the heavens and earth. “This is a fun way for us to mark the end of Matariki for 2010.”

New Zealand Post Manu Aute Kite Day will also feature some of the largest kites seen in New Zealand with Dunedin kite experts Peter Lynn Kites bringing their giant kites to Auckland for the day. Kite expert Craig Hansen recently completed a crossing of the Sahara Desert with multi-sport athlete Steve Gurney using kite power alone and are currently chasing the world speed record for kite powered vehicles.

New Zealand Post Manu Aute Kite Day takes place on Saturday 10 July from 10am-5pm at Orakei Marae, Kupe Street in Auckland as part of the region-wide Matariki Festival 10 which has featured more than 100 events in Auckland, Waitakere, Manukau and North Shore. Matariki Festival 10 ends on Wednesday 14 July. Details of events are available at www.matarikifestival.org.nz

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

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