Matariki 2024

Mānawatia a Matariki! 

Mānawatia a Matariki!
Thursday 27 June, 5–7.30pm
Te Ara Ātea


Gather your whānau and join us for a magical evening to celebrate the Māori New Year filled with light displays, music, stories, scavenger hunts, art, kapa haka and kai.

Loopy Tunes, 5.15–6pm
Join Leah and Siu, sisters and musical duo, for a preschooler’s session of interactive bilingual music, stories and fun!

Kapa Haka, 6–7.30pm
Cultural performances of choreographed dancing and singing performed by local kapa (teams) of students from across Waikirikiri (Selwyn).

Handy event information:
Dress warmly, as the event will be held both inside and outside Te Ara Ātea. Parking is available off Rolleston Drive (near the Rolleston Community Centre). Kapa haka performances will be held on the grassed area outside Te Ara Ātea. We'd suggest you wear gumboots and bring a seat to sit on.

Free to attend, drop-in. We can't wait to see you there!

Kanopy Film: Whetū Mārama — Bright Star 

Kanopy Film: Whetū Mārama — Bright Star

Saturday 29 June, 1.30–3pm, Te Ara Ātea
Saturday 29 June, 1.30–3pm, Darfield Library and Service Centre
Friday 5 July, 1–3.30pm, Leeston Library and Service Centre

Learn how Sir Hekenukumai Ngaiwi Puhipi reclaimed the lost art of traditional Māori wayfinding and voyaging the sea by navigating the stars. PG. 

Free to attend (library members), bookings required.

Navigating the Pacific with Canterbury Museum 

Navigating the Pacific with Canterbury Museum

Tuesday 2 July, 3.30–4.30pm, Leeston Library and Service Centre
Wednesday 3 July, 3.30–4.30pm, Darfield Library and Service Centre
Sunday 7 July, 11.30am–12.30pm, Lincoln Library and Service Centre
Sunday 7 July, 2.30–3.30pm, Te Ara Ātea

Discover how Māori journeyed across the Pacific Ocean without modern technology, then build your own navigational aid from LEGO®. 5–13 years.

Free to attend, bookings required.

Recreational Fishing 

Recreational Fishing

Thursday 4 July, 6.30–7.30pm
Te Ara Ātea

Join Peter Langlands, of Wild Capture, as he shares his knowledge and experience of recreational sea and freshwater fishing. 14+ years.

Free to attend, bookings required.

Kete Weaving 

Raraka Kete Wānaka / Kete Weaving Workshop **FULLY BOOKED**

Saturday 6 July, 12.30–3.30pm
Te Ara Ātea

Join members of Te Kāhui Hono, as they share their knowledge and expertise of Māori weaving. Craft a harakeke kete utilising plaiting techniques. 12+ years.

$15 library members, $30 non-members.
Bookings required.

About Matariki

Ko Matariki kei runga, ko te tohu tēnā o te tau!

Matariki signals the Māori New Year and is considered a time of celebration and renewal. Matariki begins with the rising of the Matariki star cluster during the last quarter of the lunar calendar of Pipiri (roughly mid-winter), most easily seen before dawn on the Northeastern horizon.

Customarily, Matariki was celebrated by the lighting of ceremonial fires, gifts and offerings, and celebrations to farewell the dead, honour ancestors, and to celebrate the coming year.

Waitā

Each year, Selwyn District Council focuses its celebrations on one of the nine stars in Matariki. This year, we’re celebrating Waitā — whetū (star) of saltwater bodies and all its inhabitants. If this star is particularly bright, we can expect to have bountiful harvests of kaimoana (food gathered from the sea).