Tangata festival celebrates and showcases Tauranga's unique cultural identity

Performers at the Tauranga Moana Tauranga Tangata Festival. Photo / George Novak

Thousands of people affiliated to Tauranga iwi spent their weekend celebrating their unique identities at the Tauranga Moana Tauranga Tangata Festival.

The weekend was filled with activities, culminating in the flagship event, an inter-marae kapa haka competition yesterday, all held at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre.

The three days were filled with family-friendly events including sports, a youth quiz, debating, a wearable arts exhibition based on the Battle of Gate Pa and photos from the Tauranga Library. Community organisations also ran promotional stalls. There were fun activities set up at Memorial Park for children.

Marina Kawe organised the kapa haka event. She said it was centred on having everyone participate, from the youngest children to their elders.

"It's a day of celebrating the uniqueness of who we are from Tauranga Moana and it gives everyone a chance to see how fabulous we are."

The festival is biennial and was this year hosted by a collective of marae from Te Puna.