Lunch will be at 1.30pm followed by the opening of Te Wharepuri (the Tuhoe Library and Archives) exhibit and then an opportunity to meet with the design team.
From 3pm there will be music, dance and comedy and a global mix of cuisine will be offered from night stalls. The evening concludes at 9pm.
The "living building" meets tough environmental standards which reflect the environmental values of the Tuhoe people.
It follows stringent guidelines set down by the International Living Futures Institute and requires the process of designing, building and operating the finished building to be sustainable across seven areas - site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty. Tuhoe planned to use its own timber supplies for about 95 per cent of the building including newly harvested trees for construction and gifted fallen and dead trees from the Urewera's forest for landscaping, flooring and seating.
Tuhoe chairman Tamati Kruger had previously described the project as a "big deal" for both Tuhoe and New Zealand.
Staff had spent time in Te Urewera sourcing the timber and 10 local people were trained in the art of earthbrick making. They then trained 150 volunteers who spent three weeks making the 5000 man-moulded bricks.
When the project was unveiled in 2012 Tuhoe chief executive Kirsti Luke said for Tuhoe, the building was about a lot more than the environment.
It was built by Kiwi building company Arrow International and architects Jasmax. The project is also a world first for its seismic-restraint timber structure.
Te Wharehou o Tuhoe will feature on TV One's Marae at 10am tomorrow.
