The city’s inaugural Matariki civic ceremony will provide locals and visitors the opportunity to participate in a traditional umu kohukohu whetū. To honour Matariki being observed as a public holiday, Rotorua will hold an umu kohukohu whetū on Friday 24 June at Motutara Point.

A traditional hautapu will feature in Rotorua’s first ever Matariki civic ceremony to celebrate the Māori New Year. The ceremony honours those we have lost since the last rising of Matariki, celebrates the present, and looks to the future. An earth oven will be lit before sunrise, before welcoming the New Year with kai offerings to the Matariki star cluster.

“We’d love to meet with our community and cultural experts and gather insights and ideas about how Rotorua might celebrate Matariki in a unique approach. A way that creates a special place and space in the built environment to bring community together in the true spirit of Matariki,” says Healthy Families Rotorua lead systems innovator, Pirihira Whata.