Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival 2007

Hakarongomai!

For the first time at a National Festival, an interpretation service is being introduced to pump up the vibe for audiences.

Hakarongomai is designed for those who are not fluent in Te Reo Maori and want all the juice of the unfolding drama on stage.

Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival attracts crowds of 35,000 who come to watch groups from across the nation compete for supremacy in Maori Performing Arts.

Using any radio device, visitors will be able to tune into a live venue frequency where commentators will provide in English everything you didn’t know and more about the performances.

While Hakarongomai is not a literal translation service it will be informative and also deliver those special little insights and intriguing tid bits interwoven with warmth and typical Maori humour.

The special radio broadcast will air throughout the festival at Arena Manawatu in Palmerston North from February 22-25.

Hakarongomai is the result of extensive research which revealed many audiences, Maori, non-Maori as well as international guests, genuinely wanted to know more and respond to the performers.

It is one of many new initiatives being introduced in 2007 as Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival, now proudly supported by the global organisation UNESCO, positions for the world stage.

Spectators are welcome to bring their own radios (with headphones) or can purchase small radio units at the venue.

“We are proud to be taking the New Zealand festival scene into the international arena but we are equally determined to increase the excellence at home for our performers, our people and our audiences,” says Te Matatini General Manager Wayne Johnson.

ENDS

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