Firstly what an amazing event Trow Group had the honour of hosting last Friday afternoon! P.O.P UP MAKETI 834

What an outcome we had thanks to the Te Atatū Community who came out to farewell the iconic, the great, and the pillar of the community – The Te Atatū Tavern! We had the enjoyment of watching our beautiful tamariki immerse themselves in all the festivities the Maketi had to offer – from having fun in our colourful bouncy castle to then being led to vs each other in our giant lawn games to then heading over to our face painter to transform them into their favourite characters and finishing it off with a fresh fruit ice cream! What an amazing way it was to finish their week for them! We love to see it!

To our spectacular Maketi Team:
● Trow Group/The Trust

● Jayda Iole Pauga – Event Coordinator and Lead Organisier

● Julie Latu – Finances, and Co-Organiser

● Saia Latu – Hiring and planning

● Joe Vagana – Health and Saftey

● Greg Ah-colt – managing delivery entrances

● Trow Group’s on-site Team – Set up preparations

● Open Classroom Cohort – Set up preparations

● Caryn Wilkinson (trust) – Support and Communications

● Angela Johnson (Trust) – Support and Communications

This process of preparing and organising was a lot of fun and it becomes extra special to us when the kaupapa behind the event means that extra little bit more to the community involved. We wanted to really appreciate and acknowledge the ones who dedicated their hard work and time to making this night the successful Maketi that it was. Big thank you again to our team who was involved behind the scenes, we are unbelievably grateful and appreciative of you all!

To our Beautiful Vendors and Stallholders:
● Aunty Lita’s Island plates

● Rukau Pies

● Those Guys J and M

● Baltao

● Mama’s Otai

● Cream Ice Cream

● Floating Waves

● Mono Creations

● Wolfgvng Customs

● Second Loved Clothing by Claudine

We can not thank you enough for your awesome communication and for showing up and staying even when Tāwhirimātea had a cry🌧️ We had the privilege of getting to really know some of you, creating connections through exchanging kaupapa from your beautiful businesses, which was definitely an experience in itself! You have played a massive part in making this Maketi come alive and we are so grateful to have you and potentially see you again in our future events!

To our staggering entertainment:

● Te Kotuku Kapa Haka

● Rutherford College Dance Dept.

● Live Cook Island Drumming and Dancing

● DJ DOX

We were completely blown away by the presence and pride you all brought to farewell our beautiful Tavern. We had a spectacular lineup starting with a set from dancers at Rutherford college to kick off the performances – the rain didn’t hold back and neither did they – rain or shine, concrete or grass – they made it work! Following them, we had the outstanding Te Kotuku performing with the utmost mana as they thanked and honored the tavern for allowing them and others in the community to do what they know best – embracing Te Ao Māori! To complete the night’s performances we had Live Cook Island Drumming and Dancing done by the incredible William Family. With their decades of experience in the competitive realm of drumming and dancing, we thank you for transporting us to the beautiful Cook Islands! Lastly, a big thank you to our DJ – DJ DOX – we are so grateful to have had you on the night providing our vibes and beats and we look forward to knowing you more as our new mentor as a part of Trow Group as well! It’s a rewarding thing when we get to see our beautiful youth celebrating what their culture means to them, learning it, and preserving it all within their own authentic and creative right. We want to give a special mention to Matua Dave Tanenui and the team from Te Atatu Marae Development and Whanau Committee – For their offer to repurpose the wood, and for a Karakia to bless the evening and the tavern!

This Maketi was definitely one for the books, from the entertainment, yummy foods, and awesome business to just seeing the community come together to enjoy it all and give the Tavern the farewell it deserves. Being able to celebrate cultural diversity in our youth as well as honoring the Tavern was definitely a big part of making this Maketi that much more memorable. We look forward to putting our next event on for our beautiful community and honoring other landmarks in Tāmaki Makaurau in the future!

‘Building the Future, Restoring the Past”