Iwi talent to be celebrated at Te Ahuareka o Ngati Hine festival

Otiria Marae was packed with thousands of people for the 2015 Te Ahuareka o Ngati Hine festival. Photo/Peter de Graaf

The talents and skills of the Ngati Hine people will shine at a festival all about celebrating the Northland iwi.

The Te Ahuareka o Ngati Hine Festival, a two-day cultural extravaganza, will be held for the sixth time on Friday and Saturday.

Organising committee member Pita Tipene said the biennial festival was very important to Ngati Hine, similarly to how Te Matatini was important to the Maori world.

"It allows our people to showcase a vast range of skills and talents and allows our leadership to shine through in kapa haka, in entertainment and a host of other ways.

"We want to express who we are as people and rejoice in being Ngati Hine."

Friday will deliver an action-packed day of entertainment by local schools, kohanga reo and early childhood centres with a free concert featuring Troy Kingi, Ruia Aprehama, Fat 32 and Ngati Hine's Te Huaki Punaki planned for the evening.

Saturday brings entertainment from senior kapa haka roopu, bands, hip-hop groups, whakapapa sessions and more.

The stage is the main place to be but several other activities including an art exhibition, a wearable arts parade, food stalls and more activities will complete the festival experience.

Mr Tipene said this year's festival theme "He Kumara, He Tangata", which literally means "everyone is sweet like the kumara", is derived from the Ngati Hine ancestress Hineamaru who settled in Waiomio and grew the famous tukau variety of kumara - the sweetest of them all.

The whakatauki, or proverb, retells the story of Ngati Hine while highlighting how everyone is precious with their own unique character, attributes, skills, experiences, knowledge and circumstances.

The festival, which usually attracts thousands, will be held at Otiria Marae in Moerewa. It will start at 9am on Friday and 10am on Saturday.

Visit facebook.com/TeAhuareka for more information.