What‘s happening for Matariki Tauranga Moana 2023?

The haka flash mob at The Incubator Creative Hub's Matariki Village Market in 2022. Photo: Supplied.



Matariki Tauranga Moana 2023 celebrations kick off this week, with a star-studded line-up of events to celebrate the Māori New Year.

This year's programme embraces the theme ‘Tupuānuku' – one of the stars in the Matariki cluster.

It is connected to kai - food, and rongoā - traditional medicines, that are grown within the soil or harvested from the ground.

Join master celestial navigator Jack Thatcher at the summit of Mauao at 6am Thursday, Friday or Saturday - June 15 to June 17 - to view the Matariki cluster and share kōrero and knowledge of the significance of Matariki.

Bring the family along to The Incubator Creative Hub's Matariki at the Village – Whānau Day from 9am to 2pm on Saturday, June 17.

The fun-filled festival of events will launch the Matariki exhibition programme, with live music, kapa haka, a haka workshop and the Matariki Market.

Step back in time and view the Tauranga Heritage Collection's display of gardening tools and objects related to growing in Tauranga Moana.

Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of Maungarongo ‘Ron' Te Kawa's ‘Heavenly Bodies' series at the Tauranga Art Gallery. Each colourful quilt beautifully captures one of the nine whetū (stars) of the Matariki cluster, accompanied by an artist-designed drawing activity for children.

Discover ‘Āmio', a poignant collection of recent vignettes by artist Hiria Anderson-Mita at Tauranga Art Gallery. With a palpable warmth and intimate perspective, these scenes beautifully capture everyday moments.

Take part and discover the significance of Matariki with whānau and friends.

Visit www.mymatariki.co.nz to view the full Matariki Tauranga Moana 2023 programme. 

1 comment

Star gazing.

Posted on 12-06-2023 13:08 | By morepork

I've always loved astronomy and still like to drive away from the light pollution up over Ohauiti, park the car and drop the hood then watch the satellites, meteors, and major constellations. It restores a sense of perspective to life on Earth. Matariki (Pleiades) is a beautiful globular cluster with thousands of stars which you need some assistance to see. But for me, the most interesting thing in the current sky is the constellation of Scorpio, which is easily visible as what it is supposed to represent. Anybody born under this sign should just take a few minutes and see it. No telescope required; it looks like a scorpion, right down to the sting in the tail. Look at around 10:00pm in the general vicinity of the Southern Cross; (expand some circles out from there) you should find it easily.


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