Puanga Celebrations
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Stratford residents and visitors to the district are invited to come together for a community celebration for Puanga – The Māori New Year.
From 28 June to 3 July 2021 people can get involved with free activities in the Stratford district to reflect, learn, share and celebrate Puanga.
Puanga is a time to reflect on the year that’s been and look to the future.
We’re encouraging community members to visit our Puanga rakau (tree) in Prospero Place throughout the week and participate in a reflections and aspirations activity.
The activity invites people to write down any burdens they have, or the names of loved ones who have passed in the last year on purple paper provided. These will be burned at the closing event, a Puanga Market Day on Saturday 3 July to signal a celebration of moving forward.
People can also write down their aspirations and goals on orange paper provided for te tau hou – the new year. These get placed on the rakau throughout the week, and will be collected on 5 July 2021 and then burned at Stratford district’s Puanga celebration in 2022.
Other events acknowledging the celebration include a special Puanga Tot-Time at Stratford Library on Wednesday 30 June, and Puanga Market Day in collaboration with the Prospero Place Farmers Market on Saturday 3 July.
Visitors to the Puanga Market Day can enjoy an abundance of stalls, wānanga, storytelling and entertainment to close the week long Puanga celebration.