Matariki Arrowtown Lights

 24^th – 26^th June 2022

Matariki Arrowtown Lights is a three day cultural event to remember in the heart of Arrowtown (known by tāngata whenua as Kā Muriwai) from 24th - 26th  June

Join us for this inaugural event that will showcase visual storytelling and stunning light displays and projections down Buckingham Street.  It will include performances by local Kapa Haka school groups and an astrophysicist sharing the wonders of the Otago night skies for the celebration of the first Matariki public holiday. Matariki Arrowtown Lights 2022 will be a complimentary event for all ages.

The three-day celebration finer details are still being crafted so check back here or on our social media pages to discover the delights as we announce them.   

 “Matariki is a time for reflection and welcoming the promise of a new year.  After the tough few years we’ve all had, we are ready to celebrate life, our Aotearoa heritage and to be reminded how lucky we are to be where we are, with our clear night skies and stunning environment.”   

 The Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association, in conjunction with the Arrowtown Charitable Trust would like to thank the following organisations for their generous funding of the event: 

Matariki is an abbreviation of ‘Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea’ (‘The Eyes of the God Tāwhirimātea’) and refers to a large cluster of stars, also known as the Pleiades. The rising of Matariki in the mid-winter sky marks the changing of the seasons and the beginning of the Māori New Year. 

Traditionally, for our Māori tūpuna (ancestors), when Matariki appeared in June/July, clear and bright stars promised a warm and abundant winter, while hazy stars warned of a bleak winter.    

 Matariki is a time to honour those who’ve passed since the last rising of Matariki; to celebrate the present and give thanks for what we have, and to look forward to the future.

Matariki is a new public holiday in New Zealand and the first to recognise Te Ao Māori.