Inaugural kapa haka festival on stage in the Capital
Kapa haka rōpū from around the country will take to the stage at Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre this November for the 2024 Te Anga Pāua o Aotearoa National Kapa Haka Festival.
Over two days, kapa haka rōpū supported by IDEA Services will embody te ao Māori while also showcasing their immense talents for audiences in the Capital.
This year’s theme, ‘Noku te ao – 75 years living culture’ celebrates IHC’s 75thanniversary of supporting New Zealanders with intellectual disability in the community.
The anniversary of IHC also serves as a time for people with intellectual disability and those who support them to reflect on how they go forward in a world that still excludes and discriminates against people with intellectual disability.
Mark Waters is part of the Marlborough rōpū Ngā Whaikaha Hinengaro O Wairau and is looking forward to experiencing the hospitality and mana of kapa haka.
“I love welcoming the people, nau mai, haere mai and I am the chief”.
Vonny Davis from IHC's Te Anga Pāua o Aotearoa views kapa haka as a living art form that connects those with intellectual disability to the world around them.
"It nourishes kiritaki (people we support) and returns them to their whenua, their whānau, their iwi.”
When: 14 November (11am-4pm) and 15 November (9:30am-4pm)
Where: Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, 50 Cable Street, Wellington
