Here’s what happening across New Zealand in June
Winter is rapidly approaching, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do during the chilly season.
From food festivals to celebrations of the Māori new year, here are three events you won’t want to miss this June.
Taste of Pasifika Festival
A festival celebrating Auckland’s Pasifika community will be heading to the city this June for three days of performances, food, art, sport and wellness.
Running from 10am-6pm on June 4-6, the Taste of Pasifika Festival’s two stages will feature a varied program of performances from members of 10 Pacific nations, with a live art installation on Saturday night, a soul session on Sunday afternoon, and an open mic and backyard session of Māori waiata on Monday.
Image: Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
The festival grounds will also host a marketplace selling kai (traditional Māori cuisine), crafts and other items, as well as activities such as weaving, Hawai’i lei making and block printing, and an exhibition of works from Pasifika artists who used artmaking to find balance and order during the pandemic.
Winter Food and Wine Classic
Head to Hawke’s Bay for a taste of the region’s food and wine spread across four weekends.
Along with plenty of morsels to taste at various degustations and venues across the region, the Winter Food and Wine Classic will include a series of hands-on cooking classes, where you can learn everything from how to debone a chicken or prune fig trees to learning how to cook various cuisines - with most including a luxe lunch.
Image: fawcnz (Instagram)
Film buffs can also enjoy food-related movies, screening at the MTG Century Theatre, and a series of wine-fuelled film nights at the Smith & Sheth studio theatre.
Matariki Festival
The highlight of Auckland’s winter festivities, Matariki Festival is returning from June 21 to July 16, bringing with it 80 events across the region to celebrate Māori new year which starts with the first rising of the Matariki (the Pleiades star cluster).
Image: Matariki Festival
This year also marks the first time that Matariki will be celebrated as an official public holiday, and this year’s festival lineup is just as exciting, with highlights including a street party featuring Māori musicians, light shows, kite flying, kai and cultural events.
Matariki will also be celebrated across the country, with the annual light festival Tīrama Mai returning to Christchurch, and fireworks planned for the Central Otago town of Lake Wānaka.
Image: Matariki Festival