Mānawatia a Matariki!
Written by Jan Barker & Emelie Lind
Until recent years, I knew very little about Matariki, and I imagine many others felt the same. Now that it is a national public holiday, more and more people are embracing the opportunity to learn about and celebrate this special time of year.
It has been wonderful to see Tapawera Area School celebrate Matariki over the past few years with hāngī and kapa haka performances. This year, something even more special happened. Tapawera Area School, Tapawera Kindergarten and Tapawera Connect came together to organise one community celebration, creating an evening that reflected the true spirit of Matariki through connection, collaboration and shared purpose. It was fantastic to see so many families come out to support the event.
The Tapawera Kindergarten children delighted the crowd with their performance before the Tapawera Area School students braved the cold to perform kapa haka in traditional dress. Their enthusiasm and pride made for a memorable evening. As the kindergarten shared afterwards, it was “equally heartwarming to see many of our recent kindergarten graduates performing with the Tapawera Area School kapa haka group... a wonderful reminder of the strong connections that continue long after children leave kindergarten.”
After the performances, everyone enjoyed time together over warm soup and rolls, as well as sausages and bread. Thanks to the generous support of Pestells, who supplied the sausages at a fantastic community price, we were able to keep plenty of hungry tummies warm on a cold winter’s evening. The meal was kindly provided by Tapawera Connect through the Community-Led Development Partnership with the Department of Internal Affairs. Their support not only helped provide a delicious meal but also supported a local business. It’s a great example of how working together can strengthen our community and create more chances for people to come together, connect , and enjoy time with one another.
Visitors explored the students’ artwork before wandering the glowing light walkway, searching for the tamariki’s beautifully painted glow-in-the-dark rocks. Alongside the path, braziers invited people to pause and write down their intentions for the year ahead, adding another thoughtful and meaningful element to the celebration before the evening concluded with the lantern release.
The lantern release was a fantastic highlight for the evening. The students had carefully decorated the lanterns during the day and, with the help of teachers and parents, watched them light up the night sky – a beautiful and meaningful way to celebrate Matariki.
Although the event ran only from 5 pm to 7 pm, it felt like a full evening of connection, celebration, and community spirit. If you were looking for a way to measure the turnout, we’d say the 200 sausages that mysteriously disappeared in record time were a pretty good indicator!
A huge thank you to everyone who made the evening possible. As the school said, “We are so fortunate to be part of such a supportive and connected community.” The kindergarten summed it up perfectly too, describing the celebration as “a wonderful example of what can be achieved when we work together with a shared vision for our tamariki and our community.”
Community-led development is all about bringing people together around a shared goal. This celebration was a brilliant example of exactly that, with schools, community organisations, volunteers, local businesses and whānau all contributing their strengths to create something special for everyone.
We’re already looking forward to doing it all again next year.
