Southland
As Matariki approaches, the Invercargill City Council is calling all crafty children and adults alike to help decorate the city for its Matariki Festival!
Council City Centre Co-ordinator Kari Graber said as part of Matariki celebrations, Council tried to create an activity that was family friendly and could help beautify the city.
echo adrotate_group(4, array("fallback" => 0, "weight" => 0, "site" => "no")); “Last year, children made hundreds of kites, and this year, we’re inviting them to make Tawhirimatea’s Eyes,” Ms Graber said.
In Maori mythology, Tawhirimatea is the god of weather.
Council has made hundreds of kits for families to pick up from either the Invercargill Public Library or Whitcoulls on Esk Street.
“The activity sheet in the kits includes the story of Matariki and Tawhirimatea so children have the opportunity to learn more about what Matariki means and why we celebrate it,” Ms Graber said.
Ms Graber said it was exciting to get the support of city retailers for events like Matariki.
“It really galvanises the community and helps build loyal relationships between residents and businesses, not to mention children love seeing their artwork displayed in public spaces – it becomes a great excuse to bring the whole family to town.”
Many community groups had already requested kits for their groups to complete, including Jellicoe Sea Cubs, SIT Early Childhood Centre, a Kea group, and Bluff Kindergarten.
Kits are free, and will be available until they need to be returned on Saturday, 30 June.
The eyes created will start being displayed in the inner city from July 1, and will displayed for a month.
All eyes also go in the draw to win a prize.
The Invercargill City Council will also hold a Matariki Festival in the city centre on 7 July.