The Saturday of Easter weekend sees the city’s inaugural Play Festival supported by Waitematā Local Board take place in Tuna Mau (Western Park), Freemans Bay as part of World of Cultures.
Fun experiences from a range of cultures will be set up for children and adults to enjoy throughout the park.
“The local board is thrilled to support Play Festival, the first of its kind for Tāmaki Makaurau,” says Waitematā Local Board chair, Genevieve Sage.
“Waitematā area has a diverse community, and this is a fantastic opportunity for locals of all ages to celebrate and share their cultures through games and other forms of play.”
There will be many chances to engage with te ao Māori (the Māori world) on the day through traditional games and activities.
Kī-o-Rahi is a traditional Māori game that has been played through the generations to whakawhānaunga (strengthen relationships) whakapakari tinana (strengthen the body) and whakapakari hinengaro (strengthen the mind).
Danny Maera from Kī o Rahi Tāmaki Makaurau explains the game is based on a legend, and is “fast and can be furious”, involving many skills from games like netball, touch, tag rugby, and even dodgeball.
“Playing Māori games like Kī-o-Rahi gives Māori and non-Māori insight into the ways our ancestors used to live and think, how they interacted with one another, as well as how they interacted with the taiao (environment),” says Danny.
There will be two sessions of Kī o Rahi at Play Festival. Booking this activity here in advance is recommended, participants must be aged 10 years or older. Wearing clothes and shoes that are easy to run in is advised.
Tina Talaic is organising another play station for people to learn a mixture of reo Māori (language), waiata (songs), Māori and NZ sign language, as well as poi, rāranga (flax weaving) and haka.
Tina encourages locals to come along: “We are sharing practices that have been celebrated on this whenua (land) and these shores for many generations. Waiata and rāranga are for everyone. The younger hands however will need support for some of the fiddlier parts of bending the flax leaves.”
Other cultural play experiences that you will have the opportunity to take part in include additional Māori culture offerings, Japanese taiko drumming, Brazilian Capoeira, traditional Korean games, Chinese lion dancing and more.
Play Festival will take place from 11am-4pm on Saturday 8 April 2023 at Western Park, Freemans Bay.
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