Those attending Waitangi ki Tūwharetoa on Friday at Riverside Park enjoyed free music, food stalls and fine weather.
Taupō’s Hinewai Beauchamp was one enjoying the sunshine and entertainment.
“It's been fabulous. Absolutely amazing. The Tūwharetoa exhibition, the kai stores, the entertainment, and… time to catch up, whakawhanaungatanga, with all the different whanau from here.”
Beauchamp said she would also be attending Saturday’s Ruia Taitea – a hapu based festival in which the wider iwi come together to share performances such as song, haka, mōteatea (stories) and poi.
“It will be all whanau. It'll be nice… again, catch up time. Especially before the year gets going… before school goes back, work goes back and people go back to their lives. So it's a good way just to just to pause and reset.”
Taupō Museum and Art Gallery exhibition curator Piata Winitana-Murray was pleased with the response to the exhibition of Tūwharetoa’s history and engagement with Te Tiriti o Waitangi which features a timeline, short documentary and some key taonga.
Following Ruia Taitea, the exhibition would move to the museum for just over a week, she said, but it was designed to be mobile and the aim in future was that it could be taken out into the community to places like schools.
