Cultures combine to celebrate East

Two cultures will come together next month when the annual Whiti te Ra festival is held on Masterton's East side.

The annual event, a day to celebrate the East community, will be held on December 8 from 9.30am at McJorrow Park.

Whiti te Ra refers to the rising of the sun and they are also the last words of the Ka Mate haka - both refer to a positive, up-built community and engender pride.

East side co-ordinator Deborah Davidson said they hoped to celebrate the community's Scottish heritage this year as well.

She said main streets in the community, such as Cameron Cres and Clyde St, had Scottish names.

They plan to incorporate the community's two main heritages, Maori and Scottish, by having two MCs for the event: Jeff the Maori and Alex the Scot, who will be local community figures.

"It's about giving the East side community a chance to celebrate and to have some pride about living on the East side," said Mrs Davidson.

There are also a few changes to this year's event.

Mrs Davidson said the four schools in the area (Makoura College, Lakeview School, Ko te Aroha and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Wairarapa) will submit two teams each instead of the Top Street competition.

They will all participate in traditional Maori sports - such as ki-o-rahi, which is like a combination of touch rugby and netball but played in a circle - before the stage show begins.

The show will include kapa haka performances and the Makoura College Polygroup, as well as performances by Koia, Lenny Te Whare and Legacy.

There will also be a cook-off between two young aspiring chefs, as well as stalls.

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