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November 12, 2013
Te Puia celebrates 50 years of culture and tourism
Waatea Team
Posted On November 12, 2013
Te Puia The New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its empowering legislation.
Chief executive Tim Cossar says many of the institute’s graduate carvers and weavers are expected back, and it’s an opportunity to take stock of how it has helped in the preservation of Maori traditional arts.
He says the idea for the institute came much earlier, with the original legislation in 1926, but it was the combination of culture and tourism that makes the institute work.
"There’s already been a long history of tourism in Te Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley and they were able to blend the two together quite successfully into a pretty unique organisation where the tourism arm funds the cultural arm. It’s sort of a very comfortable and nice partnership, so we don’t require any outside funding to do the work we do," Mr Cossar says.
The celebrations will include the Movies in the Pa film festival this weekend in Te Puia’s marae atea, a showband concert, dinners and other activities.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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