Annual Māori culture celebration to undergo review after latest festival

Organisers of an annual festival celebrating Māori culture will be looking to Mid and South Canterbury youth for help to grow the event.

A “thinking phase” will follow the 13th annual Ka Toi Māori o Aoraki Flava Festival, which includes kapa haka, performing arts, and visual arts at Timaru’s Theatre Royal on September 20, as the event’s incorporated society considers how to “strengthen” it, member Anna Buckingham said.

“There’s definitely aspirations [among society members] to see it grow and that will be influenced by what young people and the community have to say,” Buckingham said.

“We’re just looking at how we can move forward to make it more of a festival.”

The more than 20 Mid and South Canterbury schools taking part in the festival will be asked “What does kapa haka mean to you?” as part of the feedback-gathering process, she said.

What venue to switch to while the Theatre Royal is undergoing a multi-million dollar upgrade will be discussed during the incorporated society’s review.

Buckingham said the festival helped competitors “build their sense of identity and who they are in the community” and had been getting bigger each year.

“That connects them to Māori culture no matter who they are,” she said.

“There’s a growing demand for opportunities to be able to speak te reo.”

The aim of the festival was “to build resilience in Māori youth, supporting whānau and community connections”, she said.

South Canterbury Primary Principals’ Association representation Jonathan Young said school groups were “really excited about this event for tamariki and rangatahi to celebrate te ao [the world of] Māori”.

“It’s a prestigious occasion for performers to stand proud of the culture and their group’s efforts,” Young said.

The festival features competitors from Timaru, Waimate, Ashburton, and other places within Arowhenua’s territory – which stretches from the Southern Alps to the Waitaki and Rakaia rivers.

Key organisations that provided staff and resources to the festival were Arowhenua Whānau Service, South Canterbury Primary Principals’ Association, ECE Leaders Group; the new Education Trust; He Manu Hou; and Wellbeing and Vitality in Education.