This Saturday, the Māori tradition of kite-flying will be celebrated at a family kite day in the Auckland suburb of Ōrākei.
It's just one of over 100 free events across Tamaki Makarau in the next few weeks celebrating Matariki – the Māori New Year.
This year, for the first time, Aotearoa will honour Matariki – the rise of the star cluster Pleiades – with a public holiday on 24 June.
Photo: Emily Chalk
Matariki celebrations offer an amazing opportunity for New Zealanders to learn about a "significant taonga and kaupapa", says Auckland Council's Melz Huata-Lucas.
"We encourage everyone to come along and get involved in this very spectacular first occasion – a nationwide Matariki event," she tells Corin Dann.
- Find out about Matariki celebrations all over Aotearoa here
Melz Huata-Lucas Photo: Supplied
In Auckland, Matariki festivities kicked off on Tuesday morning with a "very, very moving" ceremony at Takaparawhau Bastion Point in which over 1,000 people made an umu kohukohu whetū (food offering to the sky).
The celebrations will conclude on 16 July with the all-ages Māori music concert Te Korakora, featuring Trinity Roots and other highly-regarded Aotearoa musicians.
In the meantime, Melz recommends people in Auckland check out the exciting lineup at Britomart this Friday and kapa haka performances around Auckland's suburban malls in the coming weekends.
After "a few hard years in isolation", Melz says that Matariki celebrations offer New Zealanders both an opportunity to honour a "beautiful kaupapa" and those who've gone before us.
"Matariki is a time for reflecting and gathering with those you love."
Tune into RNZ from 6am tomorrow (24 June) for our Matariki Special.
Watch the special Matariki light show by Auckland's Stardome Observatory and Planetarium:
