May 27, 2021
Gumboot hike and haka for mental health awareness
I Am Hope Foundation founder Mike King is strapping on his boots for Gumboot Friday.
Starting at midnight, he intends to stomp 100,000 metres around Auckland Domain to raise funds for the foundation's mental health counselling services for tamariki and rangatahi.
He says people are welcome to join him, and bring their tamariki – there will be inflatable obstacle courses,. bouncy castles, food trucks and sausage sizzles.
People are also invited to join a 654-person haka at 6pm in front of the grandstand, led by All Black great Buck Shelford.
"Why 654 people? Because that's how many people took their lives last year. We want to pay respect to those people but we also want to give people an idea of what 654 people look like. It is going to be an uplifting event, it's not a sombre event, so if you have ever wanted to have a haka with Buck, please put on your gumboots, it's a gumboot haka, come on down," Mr King says.
Rehearsals for the haka start at 5.30pm.
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