Ki te kāinga tonu o te waiata rongonui o Poi Ē, ki Pātea i te tonga o Taranaki e whakanui ana te hapori o reira i tōna rua ngāhuru tau hei whakatū i te rā o Waitangi.
Tokomaha ake i te kotahi mano tāngata ka tomo atu ki te takunetanga.
E whakamīharo ana a Janine Maruera, mema o te komiti whakahaere, e tū anō ai te kaupapa whai muri i te mate urutā me te motuhake o te tau.
“Ahakoa ngā piki me ngā heke, ka tū tonu ia te tau, atu i tērā tau na te kowhiore me tētehi atu tau i tāhuna tētehi whare ki te whare whakamātao mīti,” hei tā Maruera.
“Nā te hāpori tēnei kaupapa e whakahaere, e kohi pūtea, e whakarite ngā mea katoa. Ko te nuinga he kuia, koia te take ka uru au ki te kōmiti. He tautoko ake i a rātou,” hei tāna anō.
“Ko te whanaungatanga me te kotahitanga te aronga o te kaupapa nei. Ka tae mai te iti me te rahi ki te whakanui i Te Tiriti o Waitangi me ōna āhuatanga katoa. Ko tētehi atu painga ko te atāmira. Ka tae atu ngā rōpū, ngā kaiwaiata ahakoa nō hea ahakoa ko wai.”
E kore taea a Paepae In The Park te tū mei kore ko ngā Wātene Māori, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui, Toi Foundation me Te Kaunihera o Taranaki Ki Te Tonga otirā, te hāpori whānui o Pātea.
Ehara a Sherisse Thompson, uri o Ngaruahine me Te Ati Haunui a Papārangi, i te uakoau ki Paepae In The Park.
E toru kē ngā wā kua whakangahau ia i te hunga mātaki. Rua tekau tau kua pahure mai i tōnā tū tuatahi, e 35 tana pakeke, kua hoki ia hei māmā ki ana tamariki e whā.
“I feel very honored and privileged to be welcomed back. When I was younger performing here, I was shy, I had a whole lot of expectations and I stuffed up a couple of times in the first years but coming back here I got to do this with my tamariki and I think that’s the most important thing, bringing my babies here,” hei tā Thompson.
Te tūmanako ia, tū a Pae Pae In The Park ia te tau kia rangona tonutia te mouri o te whānau me ngā akoranga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
