There is a lovely buzz about Hawke's Bay these days and it suddenly seems as if our social calendar has become nice and full.
The stream of cruise ships docking in Napier means the CBD is constantly flowing with people. While the rain did put a bit of a dampeneron Tremains Art Deco at the weekend, there were still plenty of people out and about enjoying themselves.
And now we are experiencing an influx of people coming into town for Te Matatini 2017, which has seen 47 kapa haka groups, comprising more than 1800 performers, come from far and wide to compete until Sunday.
Although the powhiri was held at McLean Park yesterday, the actual festival will be held at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park, which has been renamed Kahungunu Park for the occasion. The festival gets underway in earnest today and features up to 16 performances a day for three days, followed by the finals on Sunday.
It is a fantastic event for us to be hosting and congratulations to Ngati Kahungunu and the organisers for getting everything sorted. If today's powhiri was anything to go by, we are in for a good few days.
Hawke's Bay Today will be giving the event full coverage every day in the paper and on our website. It is a worthwhile news event and it is good to see so many people, especially the youngsters, out there performing and having a good time.
It is also very good for our economy and already we are hearing positive stories about the benefits to the local hospitality industry. It seems like it is very difficult to get any accommodation in the Bay as B&Bs, motels, hotels, maraes and camping grounds house competitors, their families and supporters.
So, welcome to all and we hope you enjoy your stay.
