There’ll be a lot to experience and learn at Te Puia next Tuesday on Waitangi Day with special events including cultural experiences, traditional Māori arts and crafts demonstrations, Te Tiriti Seminars and more.

Te Puia is welcoming everyone to come along to its Waitangi Day event from 9am to 3pm, with a Waitangi Day Concert in the evening from 6 to 10pm. The event will also be acknowledging 60 years of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Act.

The Waitangi Day whānau experience includes Pā activities – tītī tōrea, poi and haka lessons, kirituhi face painting, and a bouncy castle, with a taonga market and rides through the Valley to see Pōhutu Geyser.

There’s also New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) demonstrations of weaving, wood carving, stone and bone carving and talks about 60 years of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Act and its legacy, as well as cultural performances including pōhiri.

We welcome people to come along to our Te Tiriti Seminars hosted by Te Puia | NZMACI Pou Taahu Te Waata Cribb on how the organisation maintains the relationship with some of the relevant principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its obligation to the protection of taonga Māori.

There will also be delicious kai and inu at our street food market with an extensive menu of delicious options, including Hāngī cooked in the Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley and Beef and Paua Burgers.

Te Puia General Manager Visitor Experience Denise Emery says Waitangi Day is an awesome opportunity to welcome locals and kiwi’s to come along with their whānau.

“We wanted somewhere families could come and celebrate Aotearoa’s special day and to learn more about Māori culture with a relaxed, fun and educational feel.

“With the National School’s of wood carving, stone and bone carving and weaving based here at NZMACI, Tuesday is an opportunity for the community to engage more deeply with our artists and to explore Te Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley which has been home to our people for over 300 years.”

As for the Waitangi Day Evening Concert – it includes some of New Zealand’s foremost musicians and entertainers. The lineup features Toru Mio, with Te Puia guides Tamati Cassidy, Paretoroa Webster Tarei, and Hunter Geary, all trained in opera and performing arts. Individually, they have graced stages in various musical theatre productions and Opera in the Pā. Notably, Tamati will take on the lead role as Viscount Raoul de Chagny in Phantom of the Opera come March. Together as the trio Toru Mio, they will perform classic songs in Māori, Italian, Spanish, and English.

Headlining the concert is Cairo, a legendary New Zealand band formed in 1979. The iconic group, featuring Richard Anaru on lead guitar, Mickey Ututaonga on drums, Ernie Semu on keyboards, and joined by Aucklander Richard Murray on bass, promising an unforgettable night. Rewa Ututaonga and Russell Harrison, the featured singers, will deliver a mix of old school, soul, R&B, and kiwi classics, ensuring a lively and enjoyable evening of dancing.

Street food stations are also included, with the menu featuring items such as mussel fritter sandwiches, smoked barrel salmon, smoked beef brisket on flatbread, seafood chowder, chicken stir fried noodles, horopito butter chicken, and kung pao chicken.

For those wanting to come along. Tickets can be found on Eventbrite.

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