YEAR AT A GLANCE: 2010 Click on underlined items for more details
MARCH
Penrhyn Gospel Day , 13th)
MAY
Dancer of the Year Contest 13-27 May
(postponed from April)
Palmerston Gospel Day, 25th
JUNE
Round Raro cycle race, 5th
Queen's Birthday, 7th
Mangaia Gospel Day, 15th
JULY
Atiu Gospel Day, 20th
Mitiaro Gospel Day, 21st
Mauke Gospel Day, 23rd
Rarotonga Gospel Day, 25th
Te Maeva Nui (cultural festival)
(30th Jul to 7th Aug)
Penrhyn Gospel Day , 13th)
MAY
Dancer of the Year Contest 13-27 May
(postponed from April)
Palmerston Gospel Day, 25th
JUNE
Round Raro cycle race, 5th
Queen's Birthday, 7th
Mangaia Gospel Day, 15th
JULY
Atiu Gospel Day, 20th
Mitiaro Gospel Day, 21st
Mauke Gospel Day, 23rd
Rarotonga Gospel Day, 25th
Te Maeva Nui (cultural festival)
(30th Jul to 7th Aug)
AUGUST
Constitution Day, 4th
Manihiki Gospel Day, 8th
Rakahanga Gospel Day, 15th
SEPTEMBER
Round Raro road race, 25th
OCTOBER
National Gospel Day (Nuku), 26th
Aitutaki Gospel Day, 27th
NOVEMBER
Turama, 1st
Vaka Eiva Festival, 19th-26th
International Food Festival* DECEMBER
Tiare (flower) Festival*
Pukapuka Gospel Day, 8th
Constitution Day, 4th
Manihiki Gospel Day, 8th
Rakahanga Gospel Day, 15th
SEPTEMBER
Round Raro road race, 25th
OCTOBER
National Gospel Day (Nuku), 26th
Aitutaki Gospel Day, 27th
NOVEMBER
Turama, 1st
Vaka Eiva Festival, 19th-26th
International Food Festival* DECEMBER
Tiare (flower) Festival*
Pukapuka Gospel Day, 8th
AND IN MORE DETAIL....
Cook Islanders have a passion for dance and each year there's a keenly fought competition to find the best dancers from across the Islands.
30 JULY TO 7 AUGUST: TE MAEVA NUI
(Cultural festival of music and dance, and celebration of the constitution)
(Cultural festival of music and dance, and celebration of the constitution)
The most important event in the Cook Islands calender is the annual celebration of self rule, granted in 1965. Formerly called the Constitution Celebrations, it was renamed in 2001 because the Prime Minister of the time wanted a Cook Islands Maori name to capture the essence and joy of the annual festival. "Te Maeva Nui" translates as "the major or most important celebration".
19 TO 26TH NOVEMBER: VAKA EIVA (Canoeing Festival)
In 2004, the Cook Islands Canoeing Association hosted the inaugural Rarotonga Vaka Eiva - a series of canoeing races including a round Rarotonga relay for the main prize of the Pacific Cup. And it's now an annual event with a host of fun events as well as the races. The 2009 event was the biggest so far, with 850 competitors in 100 teams. The Association has its own web site with full details and videos .
This colourful festival in Rarotonga includes a parade with flower-covered floats, the Miss Tiare beauty pageant and even a competition for the best decorated government building!
1ST WEEK OF DECEMBER: TIARE (Flower) FESTIVAL
1ST NOVEMBER: TURAMA
Graves may not be everyone's idea of a tourist attraction, but on Rarotonga they're a spectacular sight on 1st November each year when islanders decorate them with flowers, and candles (real and solar powered!) which burn throughout the night.
Turama is a an ancient Roman Catholic celebration of All Souls Day (2nd November) when people gather at gravesides, laugh about happy times and tell stories of their departed loved ones.
Turama is a an ancient Roman Catholic celebration of All Souls Day (2nd November) when people gather at gravesides, laugh about happy times and tell stories of their departed loved ones.
On the evening of the 1st, the church holds a requiem mass at the cathedral in Avarua. The priest blesses holy water and takes it to the nearby cemetery at Panama, close to the airport. He sprinkles it on the graves as a symbol of the water used at baptism as a sign of the promise of eternal life. After a short prayer service, and as the sun sets, people light the candles.
Gospel days are held on many of the islands and celebrate the arrival of Christianity through dramas which re-enact aspects of this event.
Some very original and very modern approaches are taken. On Rarotonga in 2006, for example, motorbike riders resembling Rambo were a memorable feature! The events are organised by the Christian Church in the Cook Islands (CICC).
Very photogenic, and loads of fun! Find out more
Some very original and very modern approaches are taken. On Rarotonga in 2006, for example, motorbike riders resembling Rambo were a memorable feature! The events are organised by the Christian Church in the Cook Islands (CICC).
Very photogenic, and loads of fun! Find out more
POINTERS TO PARADISE:
ISLANDS' WEATHER RAROTONGA SITE MAP HOME SURPRISE ME!
OR FIND YOUR OWN PIECE OF PARADISE USING THE MENU ON THE LEFT
ISLANDS' WEATHER RAROTONGA SITE MAP HOME SURPRISE ME!
OR FIND YOUR OWN PIECE OF PARADISE USING THE MENU ON THE LEFT
By law the following days are official public holidays in the Cook Islands:
Every Sunday
Good Friday and Easter Monday
Christmas Day and Boxing Day
New Year's Day and 2nd January
Anzac Day (25th April each year)
The Queen's Birthday (HM Queen Elizabeth II): 1st June
Constitution Day (4th August each year)
National Gospel Day (26th October each year)
Individual island gospel days (click here for dates)
*Not Palmerston which celebrates the birthday of the late Queen Victoria instead
Every Sunday
Good Friday and Easter Monday
Christmas Day and Boxing Day
New Year's Day and 2nd January
Anzac Day (25th April each year)
The Queen's Birthday (HM Queen Elizabeth II): 1st June
Constitution Day (4th August each year)
National Gospel Day (26th October each year)
Individual island gospel days (click here for dates)
*Not Palmerston which celebrates the birthday of the late Queen Victoria instead
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
*Exact dates for these events have yet to be confirmed. Some events are subject to change
Each year, performing artists from Rarotonga and the outer islands gather at the National Auditorium in Rarotonga to present new dances, songs, drum beats and costumes expressing the cultural theme chosen for that particular year. It's also a time when the creative community of the Cook Islands gathers on the capital island, contemporary and traditional visual arts exhibitions are staged, and ancient and modern sports are played between the islands. Other events during the festival include coconut husking, and a Maori food festival.
Events are held for juniors, intermediates, seniors and "golden oldies". The National Auditorium in Rarotonga is the usual venue for the final and it's a spectacularly noisy and colourful event not to be missed. Photographs from Cook Islands News
Watch a short video about the 2008 Turama
Tiare is the maori name for a flower or flowering plant and is often used to refer to the gardenia whose sweet scent fills the air during the festival. Photos: Cook Islands News
The event also includes a competition among the Islands to build and race a canoe built in the traditional manner by carving a tree trunk
Special Events in the Cook Islands Calendar
ONCE IN A LIFETIME EVENT
Total eclipse of the sun, Mangaia, 11 July
Total eclipse of the sun, Mangaia, 11 July
For the following 3 minutes 18 seconds, the most ancient island in the Pacific will be plunged into total darnkness. Mangaia is one of only two areas of land on earth where you can watch the eclipse in all its glory (the other is Easter Island). Near neighbour, Mauke and the capital island of Rarotonga will experience a partial eclipse.
Find out more about this amazing event in our special report
Photo: (c) Ron Hipschman, Exploratorium
Just after 8.21 am on Sunday, 11 July, the sun will stop shining on the most southerly of the Cook Islands, Mangaia, as one of the most awesome of astronomical events occurs.
The three photos above and the ones below of Vaka Eiva are the work of a very talented photographer, Harvie Allison. They are reproduced with his kind permission, and in order to protect his copyright, I have added an indelible, hidden watermark which is instantly traceable back to this site. So...do not reuse thse pictures...please contact Harv for his permission. And I also recommend highly a look at his website which includes many more superb photographs.
