With Kassie and the steering group, Sam's background in kaupapa Māori and events, tangata whenua support and Tatai Takuira-Mita representing the community of learning, Te Kāhui Ako o Te Puke, all keen to be part of the event, the four strands have come together.
''We met as a group and immediately said 'this is a great collaboration'," says Sam. "Now we've had almost two months of really, really good discussions and good preparation."
One of the most significant tasks was to give the celebrations an appropriate name.
"The title means everything, to keep it local and have tangata whenua involved with it," says Sam.
With local iwi leader and Makahae Marae chairman Dean Flavell involved, the name Te Kete o Matariki was given to capture the kaupapa of the event.
The celebration's name draws on the story of Whakaotirangi who had the role of securing the kumara plants brought from Hawaiki to Aotearoa in a kete (basket) on the Te Arawa waka.
The story is told in the whakatauaki (proverb) Te Kete- Rokiroki-a-Whakaotirangi — the secure basket of Whakaotirangi. She is a Te Arawa ancestress that links both Tia and Hei, the tūpuna (ancestors) of this area, who were on board the Te Arawa waka, to this kaupapa.
Whakaotirangi not only had to look after the kumara on board the waka, but ensure it was safe for cultivation once the waka landed. Kumara is a well-known food source for the people of the area.
Matariki is a time when the ground is being prepared for planting kumara and a time for renewal and preparation entering into the Māori New Year.
"We are inviting the whole community of Te Puke to celebrate with us,'' says Sam. ''We get to share stories, wonderful activities and kaupapa and we get to do things together, get to engage and we also get to educate.
"Many tamariki from across early learning and schools in our Kāhui Ako will be taking the stage in kapa haka performances throughout the afternoon," says Tatai.
"We are utilising local resources and key people to run workshops and promote. There is some amazing mahi happening in our community that we hope to showcase."
The celebrations will take place on July 10 at Jubilee Park.
It will be jam-packed full of fun, full of culture and full of celebration, music and food.
What is Matariki?
Matariki signals the Māori New Year. It is a time of renewal and celebration in New Zealand that begins with the rising of the Matariki star cluster (the Pleiades or Seven Sisters).
Matariki is a star cluster which appears in the night sky during mid-winter. According to the Maramataka (the Māori lunar calendar), the reappearance of Matariki brings the old lunar year to a close and marks the beginning of the new year. Hence, Matariki is associated with the Māori New Year.
Traditionally, festivities were conducted to celebrate Matariki. They followed the harvesting of crops when the patakapataka food storehouses were full, freeing up time for family and leisure.
These festivities included the lighting of ritual fires, the making of offerings, and celebrations of various kinds to farewell the dead, to honour ancestors, and to celebrate life.
Tohunga (spiritual experts) looked to the Matariki star cluster to find out how abundant the upcoming year's harvest would be. Bright, clear stars promised a warm and successful season. Hazy stars, however, warned of cold weather and poor crops.
Matariki festivities highlight the tangata whenua indigenous view of the world. They remind us of the cycle of life and natural ways of marking the passing of time.
