The Rotary team arrived at Boulcott School at 6.00 a.m. on 23 June to help celebrate Matariki with marshmallow roasting. 
It was pitch dark , frosty and windless---the lights on our beanies helped with the loading of the firewood into the braziers. Brian Ross arrived with his infamous "flame thrower" and seven braziers were lit, each one representing one of the Matariki stars in the constellation. By 7.00 a.m., the school community was setting up for breakfast and the Maori cultural presentation commenced with the haunting playing of a conch shell.
The corridor inside the school had been decorated with Matariki stories and the ultraviolet light provided a surreal setting.
At the end of the speeches a piper played 'Amazing Grace' and then the marshmallows were ALL ON for young and not so young.
The Matariki stars rose over the Wainui hill and were slowly extinguished by the new rising sun on a magnificent morning.
What a great event --- emotional and uplifting to experience our very first official Matariki event.
