Cultural Festival celebrates best of local kapa haka at Woodville

Tararua College showed why they were in the Manawatu Regional Kapa Haka finals at Manfield on Saturday.

It was standing room only for visitors when Tararua Kāhui Ako presented the 2021 Cultural Festival with the backing of Wairarapa REAP in the Woodville Stadium on July 1.

Sitting on the floor were eight primary schools waiting their turn to perform kapa haka, some with Matariki related items. Seated were the Wharititi Māori Cultural Group and Tararua College with guests and supporters of the groups there to provide models for the younger groups to emulate.

Wairarapa REAP had been very proactive sourcing funding and organising support for the schools to learn waiata and haka, particularly from Tararua College and the Waititi Māori Cultural Group.

Ballance carried out a re-enactment of Matariki.

The festival began with a traditional powhiri, local Māori kaumātua extending their welcome, responded for host Woodville School by Richard Daymond – teacher at Tararua College.

With a very energetic Jordan Bennett, also of Tararua College, as MC who thanked the crowd and schools for participating saying "everyone can learn from this occasion", the items began.

Before this crowd of 400-plus parents, supporters and performers each group then took its turn to entertain starting with Woodville School which combined kapa haka with some gymnastics moves.

Each item was very different, some schools in spectacular traditional costume like Eketāhuna and Makuri, with the traditional Māori items of waiata and haka interspersed by short poi and one different item by Ballance School re-enacting the traditional story of Matariki.

The Wharititi Māori Culture group split the programme in half with a passionate and resounding exhibition of their craft best illustrated by the sheer joy displayed in faces and actions.

Similarly, the Tararua College kapa haka group with 16 new members since last year also performed to close the show, presenting some harmonious waiata and ferocious haka which demonstrated why they came third in a partnership with Tu Toa as Te Ara Toa in the Manawatū Kapa Haka Festival on Saturday.