Celebrate this Matariki at the Toi Ake Tuwharetoa Maori Art & Design Expo the first of five major events planned for Turangi by local people opening this weekend (June 16 & 17, 2006). Starting out with 32 Ngati Tuwharetoa artists and designers, the vision is to create industry and cultural, social and economic pathways of success for Ngati Tuwharetoa through events, education and enterprise. One of the highlights of the expo will be a fashion extravaganza Te Hau Matao, (The chill wind) - "an apt name", says Gloria Clarke event co-ordinator, "considering the event is about celebrating winter and the time of Matariki the Maori New Year".
www.hekainga.comCelebrate this Matariki at the Toi Ake Tuwharetoa Maori Art & Design Expo the first of five major events planned for Turangi by local people opening this weekend (June 16 & 17, 2006). Starting out with 32 Ngati Tuwharetoa artists and designers, the vision is to create industry and cultural, social and economic pathways of success for Ngati Tuwharetoa through events, education and enterprise. One of the highlights of the expo will be a fashion extravaganza Te Hau Matao, (The chill wind) - "an apt name", says Gloria Clarke event co-ordinator, "considering the event is about celebrating winter and the time of Matariki the Maori New Year".
www.hekainga.comThe fashion extravaganza will link the past to the future, with traditional and futuristic designs by 11 Ngati Tuwharetoa designers.

Event co-ordinator Gloria Clarke: "Linking our past to our future, our designers illustrate how the kakahu-clothing techniques of our ancestors have been retained and have also been adapted to today's and tomorrow's fashion trends, resources and materials," Ms Clarke says.

Each designer will show four garments, including a cloak, a garment made entirely from natural resources, a contemporary garment using traditional methods and a futuristic outfit applying traditional methods to tomorrow's materials. Paretuiri Simeon is fashion show director and one of the designers whose technical and creative skills will be on show. She started out as a model before moving on to making outfits for Maori TV productions, creating her own line of Maori clothing and teaching design. It's also a chance to check out emerging talent. Hinewai Waipouri's designs will debut at Te Hau Matao.

Te Hau Matao will be held at the Tongariro Chartered Club on June 16 at 7pm, doors open 6.15pm. Tickets $45 (includes three-course meal) available from The Maori Shop, Turangi and Hei Ara Kokiri, Horomatangi St, Taupo."

Gloria Clarke also talks about the plans for the Expo's future. "While our current plans only accommodate the 32 artists, applications for the 2008 Expo will be available over the two-days. It's been awesome to have earlier projections proven true: That Toi Ake would bring yet to be discovered artists 'out of the woodwork'. The 2008 Expo is going to double the size of this year's event, and we haven't even staged the first one!" (Gloria Clarke)

Toi Ake Tuwharetoa is a biennial event, and celebrates and showcases the best artists that Ngati Tuwharetoa has to offer. It has been scheduled in June to acknowledge and honor the time of Matariki.

Inspired by highly successful New Zealand tradeshow events such as TRENZ, the Auckland Ellerslie Flower Show, and New Zealand's Agricultural Fieldays, Toi Ake is about creating a place where Tuwharetoa artists can gather and showcase their work to the world, including their whanau, hapu, the media, art buyers, and art and culture enthusiasts worldwide.

"We've been really fortunate to gain the financial support of local funding bodies, however with a view to becoming more commercial as the years pass; our next step is to seek-out professional sponsor relationships."

The events calendar is a calendar of opportunity. Establishing a calendar of events presents the community with regular opportunities to celebrate, exchange ideas and stories, learn and explore new skills, and to have fun with the whanau. It also offers a myriad of possible business, employment and career opportunities.

Our events are family orientated and are open to both locals and national and international travelers and visitors alike.

We invite you to Turangi, to experience our World, to discover and celebrate who we are.

TOI AKE 2006 is a free community event.
More details can be found at
Other events planned for Turangi include a Polynesian Drama Festival (Labour Weekend 2006); Maori Games Festival (annual, Waitangi Weekend (2007), Environmental Science Fair (biennial, June 2007); Inter-Tribal Kapa Haka Festival (biennial, Labour Weekend 2007).

www.hekainga.com

Upcoming Turangi Events-
Toi Ake Tuwharetoa Maori Art & Design Expo (June 16 & 17, 2006)
Toi Kitea Tuwharetoa Indigenous Drama Festival (Oct 22, 2006)