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United States Waitangi Day celebrations at Paepae in the Park festival in Pātea
Crowds enjoying the music at Paepae in the Park 2024. Photo / Jacq Dwyer
Waitangi Day was celebrated in traditional style at Pātea’s Paepae in the Park music festival held every year at Memorial Park.
Pātea community board chairwoman Jacq Dwyer said around 4000 people attended throughout the day which started with a pōwhiri ceremony at 10am.
“It is fantastic to see everyone enjoying the wonderful music and all the kai stalls on offer,” Dwyer said.
“The library and museum are both open and people from out of town who have whakapapa here were looking up records of their ancestry.”
Food stalls selling traditional kai, icecream, and a range of international cuisines were all doing steady trade at the park.
Dwyer said there were three to four generations of whānau attending the festival together.
South Taranaki Mayor Phil Nixon and elected council members visited the event throughout the day and Dwyer said it was the biggest Waitangi Day event in the region.
“This is the 21st year of Paepae in the Park,” Dwyer said.
“The only time it didn’t go ahead was in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions.”
Regional talent from South Taranaki, Whanganui, Ruapehu, and Rangitikei was included in the line-up of performers, and Taumata Whitireia - a performance collective promoting cultural pride and diversity had travelled from Porirua to perform this year.
Other performers entertaining the crowd included Taikura, Sophie Toyne, Just B, Matou, Noisy Waters, Selah Saints, Ivy Henare, and Kua Mutu.
“The Pātea Māori Club is on next and everyone’s getting excited to see them,” Dwyer said.
“There are eight original members in the line-up.”
The group was first formed in Pātea in 1967 and in the 1980s they became world famous when they began to release Māori-language pop and hip hop music.
Poi E, produced by Dalvanius Prime with lyrics by Ngoi Pēwhairangi, was Aotearoa’s No 1 song in 1984.
Liz Wylie is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. She joined the editorial team in 2014 and regularly covers stories from Whanganui and the wider region. She also writes features and profile stories.
