Matariki
Come celebrate Matariki 2024 at the Victory Community Centre!
Wednesday 3rd July, 3pm – 7pm
To get involved, contact us steve@victorycommunity.org.nz
We can’t wait for our Matariki celebration! We'll have school and community performances, hot soup, Hāngi, a Lantern Hīkoi along the Railway Reserve, Fire Poi, African drumming, projections, a Matariki remembrances and gratitudes activity and more! Our annual celebration of the Māori New Year, a time for remembrance, celebrating the present & looking forward to the future.
Please bring your lantern or torch & wrap up warm. Children under 12 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. We ask that people stay at home if they are feeling unwell.
The success of this event is only possible because of the help and enthusiasm of local people so if you would like to be involved, to volunteer, donate or sponsor the event please do get in touch. Give us a call on 03 546 8389 or email steve@victorycommunity.org.nz
Approximate Timeline
3:10pm - Free soup for tamariki and whānau
3:50pm - 4:30pm VPS School Performances
4:30pm - 5:15pm Community Performances.
5:15pm - 6:15pm Kai to be served. ** Fire Poi & African Drumming Entertainment as well as a Light Art display & a Matariki remembrances and gratitude's activity!
6.20pm - Lantern Hīkoi - Look out for the Nelson Light Collective’s Shadow Play installation along the route.
** We'll start selling tickets for the Hāngi on the day of the event. Tickets for the Hāngi are $5 per serving and Tickets can be bought by cash or eftpos. You will need to keep the tickets safe as you will hand them over for your feed in the evening! No ticket no kai unfortunately. We will be limiting to six tickets per purchase so we can share the kai as far as we can around our community.
The route for the Hīkoi is the same as recent years, we will head south along Vanguard St from Victory Primary School then up on to the Railway Reserve. We will then head north back to the Community Centre. Stewards and First Aiders will be at several points along the route as well as accompanying us during the hikoi.
The VCC carpark will be closed to traffic from 1:30pm - 8pm.
Mānawatia a Matariki!
Thanks to the amazing people and organisations who are helping to make this year's event happen...
Victory Primary School
Karolina Gorton from Lolka Studio
Kat Beyle from Wiphala Studios
Professor Rangi Mātāmua
Rohan O’Neill-Stevens
Tony Payn
Community Organisation Grant Scheme
Nelson Tasman Methodist Parish
Benge & Co
Cimarrón in Aotearoa
Community Artworks
English Language Partners Nelson
Fire & Emergency NZ Nelson
Fujifilm
Gravity Events
InRhythm
Joy Riders
Meat Solutions
Multicultural Youth Nelson Tasman
Nelson City Council
Nelson Environment Centre
Nelson Food Distributors
Nelson Light Collective
Sport Tasman
Te Kākano Kapa Haka Group from Hampden Street School
Victory Community Church
Viva La Vaca
Waimea Soroptimists
Whakatu Rotary
Ngā mata o te ariki Tāwhirimatea - Matariki
Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters, in the Taurus constellation. Matariki is a shortened version of Ngā mata o te ariki o Tāwhirimātea, or 'the eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea
According to myth, the children of Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother, separated their parents. The god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, was so angry that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens.