February 14, 2017
Stage going up for Te Matatini
Ngati Kahungunu has started building the facilities for Te Matatini.
The national Maori performing arts competition will draw tens of thousands of people to Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park in Hastings next week which has been renamed Kahungunu Park during the competition.
The mahau and stage have arrived from Rotorua, and local carvers are finishing a 5 metre high waharoa to welcome visitors.
Ngati Kahungunu chair Ngahiwi Tomoana says the iwi is also building other facilities around the park for if people want a break from the kapa haka.
"We have a quiet space for children and for rangatahi. We have a place for kaumatua. We have a place for businesses, cultures, people in our communities, Maori, Pakeha, Chinese, Indians. We have a place where other iwi can display. Ngai Tahu is coming to display. Chathams is coming to diplay. Tainui is coming to display. There is a place for everybody," he says.
Ngahiwi Tomoana says the festival has had huge support from local authorities.
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