Tūhoe festival draws thousands to Rotorua

The sun was beating down and waiata rang out at Rotorua International Stadium today as hundreds took to the stage at the Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe festival.

It was the second day of the festival. Friday saw hundreds of children take part in the junior kapa haka competition and the seniors followed today.

Spectator Judith Karaitiana had travelled from out of town to watch her whānau perform.

"My niece is in Tūhoe ki Kawerau but I have whānau in Ngāti Haka-Patuheuheu, too," she said.

"It's a beautiful day with good vibes.

"It's a competition but it's more of a whānau day."

Senior kapa haka group Te Tahu o Haokitaha perform at Te Hui Ahurei a Tuhoe. PHOTO/BEN FRASER

It is the first Tūhoe festival to be held in Rotorua in 47 years and was expected to draw thousands to the city over the weekend.

It is packed with activities and competitions to celebrate the iwi based in Te Urewera.

Snow cones and icecreams did little to help spectators cool down on Saturday as the city reached a high of 22C.

Bishop Rua had travelled from Waimata to watch the senior kapa haka performances.

He was supporting Waimana Kaaku and hoped they would perform well.

Image 1 of 21: Te Hui Ahurei a Tuhoe - Day one. Te Tira Hou. Photo/Ben Fraser

The main drawcard of the festival was the kapa haka, with junior teams competing yesterday and senior teams today - a total of about 600 performers.

Sunday will see 40 junior and senior netball teams of about 300 players and 15 senior rugby teams of about 300 players compete.

There are also 12 golf teams, debating teams, artists exhibiting traditional and contemporary art and a battle of the bands/talent quest.

Governance committee member Pou Temara said the significance of the festival was that it gave Tūhoe living outside of the tribal area to "reacquaint themselves with Tūhoe culture".

Temara said he wasn't sure how many people had attended the festival in the first two days but it was a "heck of a lot".

"Things are going exactly as we hoped. It's going magnificently," he said.

"The spirit out there is very, very good. There's a certain buzz in the air, enhanced by the nice weather."

Temara said there was a sense of nervousness in having the festival outside the Tūhoe territory but it had gone well, so he wouldn't rule out Rotorua hosting the festival again.

"I'll talk to our organising committee and see if that's on the cards or not but looking at it it could very will be held here again. It's a huge success."

Temara expected the competition on the sports fields to be fierce.

Still to come:
Sunday 8am-3.30pm: Tūhoe netball at the Rotorua Netball Courts, Malfroy Rd.
Sunday 7pm: Prizegiving, Rotorua International Stadium
Sunday 8pm-10pm: Taiohi Taiea, family show featuring Tūhoe youth aged 5-14, performances by Battle of the Bands winners, Harvest and Maimoa, Rotorua International Stadium