Waipuketia ki te Aroha (Flood them with love) was the name of a popular event in Rotorua this last weekend.

Fresh back from Te Matatini all six Te Arawa kappa haka teams took to the stage again at Kouramawhitiwhiti (the Rotorua lakefront) to perform to a crowd of 3000-plus.

The event raised well over $30,000 in five hours to donate to whānau in Te Tai Rāwhiti and Ngāti Kahungunu affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. 

Trevor Maxwell from Te Kapaha o Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Watu Mihinui from Te Kapahaka o Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao led the festival.

Te Matatini and Ngāti Whātua have welcomed the mahau that adorns the stage to Ngā Ana Wai this morning marking nine days before the start of the beleaguered kapa haka competition.

Despite the heavy rain and strong wind caused by Cyclone Gabrielle the giant structure, which has been a fixture of Te Matatini since 2013, was blessed at dawn by karakia. 

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Te Whānau o Waipareira is back after three years of no “Waitangi ki Waititi” and ready to roll out one of Auckland’s biggest Waitangi music festivals with an extensive lineup of some of Aotearoa’s famous music artists and bands.

Stan Walker, Katchafire, Savage, and Three Houses Down lead an impressive line-up of live acts across two stages. 

The event will be held at Parrs Park in West Auckland starting Monday, February 6, running from 9am to 4pm.

A caliber of international Hip Hop and R’n’B artists have landed in Aotearoa to perform at a series of Juicy Fest concerts across New Zealand and Australia.

Women inmates from Auckland Region Women's Corrections Facility have been training for the inter-prison Kapa Haka competition for over two months.

The competition is part of the Department of Corrections Hōkai Rangi strategy, a strategy that uses Māori culture to rehabilitate Māori prisoners. This is the second time that the group from the prison, known as Te Papa Mauri, has taken part.

Twelve Northland primary and intermediate schools have battled it out to see who will represent Northland at the national Te Mana Kuratahi competition being held in Nelson next year.

Te Rangi Āniwaniwa, Ngā Huiarau o Kawakawa, and Ngā Mātāpuna o Horahora are the teams that have gained a place in Nelson.

In September last year, organisers cancelled Te Mana Kuratahi after some regions, including Waikato, were moved into alert level 3. That meant a new round of regional qualifying competitions in 2022. Te Tauihu retains hosting rights for Te Mana Kuratahi in 2023.

Te Wehi Haka is fresh back in Aotearoa after taking the haka to an international event in India.

The group was founded by the leaders of the legendary kapa haka team Te Waka Huia, Tāpeta and Annette Wehi. It travelled to India to represent Aotearoa at the National Tribal dance festival in Chhattisgarh after an invitation from the government of India.