Two weeks of activities for Matariki (Maori New Year) begin today in Dunedin with dance and theatre workshops.
It is being organised by the Otepoti Matariki steering committee, the Dunedin City Council and the Maori participation working party.
Events will include story-telling at playcentres and libraries, a wearable art show and kapa haka, and the Marae Idol event at Araiteuru Marae in Dunedin.
The rising of Puaka (a star, Rigel) and Matariki (a constellation, the Pleiades) mark the coming of the traditional Maori New Year.
They dip below the horizon in late May and their re-appearance on the northeast horizon a few weeks later signifies the end of the harvest season.
The first new moon to follow brings the new year.
Co-ordinator Reitu Cassidy said Matariki was becoming firmly established, with Tourism New Zealand profiling the event and broadcasts being aired on Maori Television.
