Rain or shine, the show must go on and that’s exactly what went down for the Hakupu Atua village showday that took place last Saturday.
The beaming expressions and festivities showcased by the people of Hakupu overcame the gloomy skies.
A great turnout and show of support was seen by the many locals from around the island who gathered at the Hakupu Tuatea school grounds to enjoy the third village showday of the year for the island.
As seen at village showdays, there was a great variety of food stalls selling traditional Niue food and delicious foreign delicacies.
An array of agricultural produce beautifully displayed showcasing the hardwork of Hakupu farmers and growers. And an outstanding display of the Hakupu women’s fine talents in weaving, arts and handcrafts presented in the Tuatea school hall.
As per tradition of showdays, the programme of the day began with speeches which were heard from some of the following, including the Premier Hon. Dalton Tagelagi, Minister for Infrastructure and Finance Hon. Crossley Tatui, Member of Parliament (MP) for Hakupu Ritchie Mautama, Chairperson of the Hakupu VC Enterprise Mautama, former Premier Young Vivian, NZ High Commissioner H.E. Helen Tunnah, Reverend Falkland Liuvaie, Hakupu fishing association spokesperson Andre Siohane, Hakupu elder Pitasoni Tanaki, Hakupu women’s spokesperson Puasina Tatui and Hakupu Youth Fellowship leader Raquel Tanaki New.
A great deal of outspoken people who have each expressed in their speeches their utmost gratitude for all the help and support for the village of Hakupu throughout the year leading up to the showday.
According to Pitasoni Tanaki, this year is the 52nd village showday for Hakupu since it first began.
Some of the key requests to the government heard in the speeches of the village representatives included a scale to weigh the agricultural produce at the showday for each village and not rely on the scale provided by the government.
The request from the Hakupu Council of Women was furniture for their newly designated handcrafts space.
In her speech, Youth leader Raquel had asked the government for funding support, whether big or small, to help with the Tuatea workout gym space.
In response to the requests, the Premier generously announced in his speech that the government has gifted $10,000 to help support the youth’s ambitions to fix and/or upgrade the gym space.
While for the following requests, he says that the government will continue to support the village but he also emphasised not to wait or rely for the government but to help themselves first then the government can help as well.
Following the speeches were cultural performances seen from the youth of Hakupu varying from traditional Niuean, to Tongan and Tuvaluan performances.
The final programme for the day was the sports activities such as the traditional tika throwing and a game of netball.
A successful day marking 52 years of the Hakupu Atua village showday.