Live performances top the bill at Matariki Hauora event at Tūranga

Matariki Hauora-Focus on Wellbeing returns to Tūranga from 1 to 4pm on Saturday 2 July with live performances a feature of a bigger and better event.

Focus on Wellbeing was first hosted at Turanga on 2 April of this year but a change in Covid restrictions mean there is more on offer this time round. This event offers live performances, information displays and activities.

A highlight is Tai Chi exponent Tianlong Cao who will go through an impressive routine enhanced by calligrapher Peihong Ma’s projected brush strokes in Tautoru/TSB Space. Tianlong’s impressive routine will be followed by one with easier moves in which Tūranga customers can follow if they wish.

Māori health academic and taiaha exponent Aaron Hapuku will lead a Mau Rākau or traditional Maori weaponry performance, also in the Tautoru/TSB Space on Saturday afternoon.

Customers are encouraged to ‘go for gold’ with the return of Tūranga’s INFOlympics Quiz. Complete the quiz and be in the running for an INFOlympics gold medal and the Tūranga prize pack which includes a $30 book voucher.

The Tūranga INFOlympics also feature fun video games including one that tests your own cyber security, another where you get to be a social media reporter for the BBC or see how you go separating fact from fiction with the Buzz Feed Fake News video.

On Hapori | Community, Level 1 there will be fun 'Sparklers' activities, designed by the All Right? campaign to enhance children's wellbeing.

There will also be eye-catching displays including Ikebana designed by Ellerslie Garden Show award winner Mei Chiung-Wang, knitting, sewing and needle felting.

Visitors to the craft displays will have the opportunity to try their hand at knitting, crochet and sewing with a focus on wellbeing.  

As part of a community project involving sewing, we will provide fabric and cotton for you to stitch a word like whanau, friends, walks or a simple image like a smile, cloud, daisy on to it. All your contributions will be stitched together and displayed in the library.

Come and join in our craft project and reflect on what brings you Joy and contribute to bringing joy to others.

Health groups including Dementia Canterbury and the Mental Health Education Resource Centre (MHERC) will have representatives ready to answer your health-related questions on Hapori, Tūranga’s Community floor, on Saturday afternoon. A MHERC representative will give a talk and offer tips on how to build a personal wellbeing plan to help us get through Covid-19 and other challenges life throws at us.

Visit the information desk/volunteer station and ask the Book Discussion Scheme about joining or starting your own book group. There is also useful day-to-day information from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Volunteering Canterbury can guide you to the right organisation for you and Civil Defence can give you a heads-up on what to do in an emergency.

The main display will be outside Tautoru/TSB Space on Hapori | Community, Level 1 but be sure to visit all the floors at Tūranga to get the full Matariki Hauora-Focus on Wellbeing experience.

Matariki Hauora-Focus on Wellbeing line-up

  • From 1pm visit our craft tables to learn how to knit and crochet or take part in our community project by sewing an uplifting message onto fabric provided by the library.
  • From 1pm families can try their hand at the ‘Sparklers’ activity on Hapori’s Makerspace table or have a go at the INFOlympic Games which includes a quiz. The winner of the quiz will receive a prize pack including a $30 book voucher.
  • 1pm-2pm: Ask our Civil Defence representatives what you need in your emergency kit and any other disaster planning queries you might have.
  • 1.30pm: Watch a champion exponent of tai chi go through his spaces, accompanied by artistic calligraphy projected on a big screen in the TSB Space. Library customers will have a chance to try their hand at an easy tai chi routine.

  • 2pm-3pm: Ask Citizens’ Advice Bureau on many day to day topics including how to start a business, how to resolve a dispute without going to court, where to find budget advice, how to get help when applying for a work visa or getting buy-in from your neighbours when a boundary fence needs to be repaired.
  • 2pm-3pm: Find out from Dementia Canterbury where you can get information and help when caring for a relative who has dementia.
  • 2.30pm: Watch a dramatic display of mau rākau (traditional Māori weaponry) featuring taiaha in the TSB Space.
  • 3pm-4pm: Talk to the Book Discussion Scheme (BDS) representative on starting a book group. What sort of book group would you like, fiction or non-fiction: BDS can help you with both!
  • 3pm-4pm: Talk to the Mental Health Education Resource Centre (MHERC) about setting up your own wellbeing plan or other aspects of mental health.
  • 3.30pm-4pm: Listen to MHERC’s Sharon Bennett give a talk about maintaining wellbeing in a Covid world.

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