We always commemorate Waitangi Day because, in Aotearoa, every day is Waitangi Day.
This year we also celebrated Waitangi Day ‘out west’ at Parr’s Park for Waitangi@Waititi, a fantastic event organised by Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust and a cast of thousands.
We took 35,000+ others with us (NZ Herald estimate, others say as many as 50,000) and we all had a magnificent day.
The weather rocked it all day and everything went perfectly.
As most of my friends know, organising big cultural and music events like this is what I did for a living for many years. If I’d created this one, I’d have been beyond proud, it was wonderful.
I’m in a wheelchair now so I’m a bit of a problem for my whanau, pushing he old girl but never moaning. They’re outstanding examples of true caring. The welcome – and the organisation – made everything possible and easy.
Talent was wall to wall – Tiki Taane, Katchafire, IllumiNgāti, Kora, The Black Seeds, Peter Garrett and the Alter Egos, Sons of Zion, Rutherford High School Kapa Haka, Tomorrow People, and Aaradnha, not to mention sublime food and dozens of quality stalls.
Great to hear K’lee and Storme from Mai Fm doing the continuity brilliantly with a few words from Trust Chair John Tamihere and the Te Pāti Māori MP for Tāmaki Makaurau Takutai Tarsh Kemp inserted. Absolutely the perfect way to remember why we commemorate this significant day day and why we allow ourselves a few moments to celebrate it as well – and on the late ‘Uncle’ Bob Marley’s 79th birthday (a reminder to continue to ‘stand up, fight back’).
dykiegirl 