Plenty offered at Waitangi Day Family celebrations

Skye Chadaae at the Hawke's Bay regional sports park. There was something for everyone at yesterday's Waitangi Day Family celebrations. PHOTO / Paul Taylor.

While free rides, and entertainment may have been a drawcard for some, for others yesterday's Waitangi Day Family Celebrations was a way to spend time with family, and remember the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Thousands of people enjoyed what was on offer at the annual Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park event yesterday.

Ngati Kahungunu Iwi, which runs the free celebration with support from the Hastings District, and Napier City Councils, says the event is to celebrate "178 years of nationhood" from the time chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi in the Bay of Islands.

Yesterday there was no shortage of activities, with children enjoying the free amusement rides as punters strolled from stall to stall - with the longest line outside one offering painted ta moko.

Hastings women Manila Haapu and Delia Ropiha said they came to the event every year - although previously had spent some of the day on stage performing kapa haka.

The festival offered a chance to see whanau, Ms Haapu said, "you can come here and see whanau you haven't seen for a long time."

"It's just a celebration of being together, of whanaungatanga [relationships]," Ms Ropiha said. "It's a day for all races to come together."

Throughout the day performances on a main stage kept people entertained with a playlist including kapa haka groups, hip-hop, reggae and R&B star Che Fu, Latin Roots dancers, Scottish drummers Clan Celtica, and Pearls of Polynesia.

Teenagers Holden Tumarae, and Piata Harmer, both 17, and Honey McLean, 16 spent the day enjoying the rides, and kai on offer - with multi-cultural array of food from hangi to ethnic cuisine available.

Piata said the event was good as "you get to spend time with family".

Holden said it was important to remember the treaty signing, "I'm pretty thankful for what our people did back then".

Taradale's Diane Plant and her partner brought their grandchildren to the sports park to make the most of the "beautiful day".

Ms Plant said she thought it was important her grandsons, aged nine and seven, learnt about the Treaty of Waitangi as they had recently moved from Australia.

About 400 people also took part in sports events on the fields.