Articles by Utopia Support

It's Polyfest time in NZ

Monday 1 March 2010 | Published in Features

Auckland’s Pacific Island communities will come together next month for the annual Polyfest celebration. Running from Wednesday March 17 to Saturday March 20 at the Manukau Sports Bowl, Polyfest celebrates the heritage of Pacific Island communities through music, dance, speech and art. A record 90,000 people attended the 2009 festival with more people expected to […]

Church defended

Monday 1 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I have read what someone else is saying about the CICC. Tepuka land was given to the CICC, so that means that CICC owns the land which was given to them by God. Why do people jump so quickly down the throat of the CICC without doing their homework first. Friends, if you […]

Appeal committee pledges accountability

Monday 1 March 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, The Aitutaki Cyclone Appeal Committee is saddened by the insinuation by Anonymous Donor that monies raised by the national appeal will not reach its destination – the Aitutaki people. The ACA cannot speak for monies given to Red Cross or the Government – we can only speak for funds that have been donated […]

Tsunami signs

Monday 1 March 2010 | Published in Smoke Signals

Early on Saturday morning shortly after the first widespread tsunami warning arrived from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, some people texted others to say that Avarua harbour was looking very empty, believing this to be the drawback from the tsunami that was still six hours away from Rarotonga. Instead, the very low water was the […]

Localising conservation

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Environment

World Wildlife Fund hands over to Te Rito Enua As World Wildlife Fund (WWF) phases out of the Cook Islands, local NGO Te Rito Enua is gearing up to take its place. WWF, which will officially hand its operations over to Te Rito Enua next month, has been in the Cooks for over a decade. […]

Open Mic night starts up again

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Features

Open Mic night is back. The first OM Night of the year will be held at Waterline Beach Bar & Grill Restaurant in Arorangi this Monday, March 1, at 7 pm. Anyone who is interested in singing, playing an instrument, jamming with a band, telling stories or telling jokes in front of a live audience […]

Jail sounds with a message

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Features

Four prisoners bare their souls in 13 original songs After ten months of recording beats tapped out on walls and wooden benches with rudimentary equipment, four Arorangi prison inmates have released their first CD. The 13 original tracks are written and performed by the prisoners who said their record was about “change and changing our […]

Big birthday cake shared at St Jo's

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Features

Cook Islands Girl Guide centenary ambassadors Ngara Katuke and Tutu Mare visited St Joseph’s Primary School to celebrate 100 years of guides and scouts. On April 10, Girl Guides and Scouts around the world will celebrate 100 years of guiding in the world. Katuke and Mare encouraged the boys and girls of St Joseph’s to […]

Ken launches Treddlecat in NZ

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Features

Big ideas come naturally for Rarotonga inventor and boat designer Ken Kingsbury. The former Ashburton man, who is credited for the creation of the town’s man-made Lake Hood, was to return to the lake this week to launch his latest invention. Kingsbury’s pedal-driven boat, the Treddlecat, uses swinging hydrofoils angled towards the water instead of […]

Kodachrome moments - 1968 performance comes to life

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Features

Cook Islands ei for sale aboard the SS Monterey, November 1968. 25 Rarotonga “/> Tens of thousands of photos would have been taken by the tourists who travelled the Pacific on Matson ships in the 50s and 60s. Most of the pictures were Kodachrome colour slides. After countless showings to “those back home” the slides […]

Mitiaro kids take Rorouira apaipai on camp

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Features

An overnight camping trip for a class of Mitiaro students was another chance to put their ‘Rorouira apaipai’ or XO laptops to use. Principal Thomas Samuela says students had to write in their journals on the laptops while they were at camp. He reports that the One Laptop Per Child durable state-of-the-art laptops, which have […]

Vaka series brings Tangaroa to life

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Features

Kimi Enua – vaka on display at the BEachcomber Contemporary Art Gallery “/> Reynolds brings Tangaroa to life in a series of canvas paintings and on two painted vakas with vivid oranges, yellows, blues and greens interlaced with black. The centrepiece of her exhibit at the Beachcomber Contemporary Art Gallery is a painted life-size vaka, […]

Women's wear always island style

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Features

Through a series of life-size prints, Kay George chronicles the change in the attire of local women over the years. The prints track the evolution of women’s adornment in the Cook Islands, marked by the impact of the London Missionary Society in the early 1800s, influences from New Zealand and Tahitian neighbours, the advent of […]

New caf in town

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Features

There’s a new cafe in town, and it’s on wheels. Tuesday through Saturday, Simon and Sharon Stott will be squeezing juice and foaming cappuccinos in their portable cart that’s currently parked on the main road at the Punanga Nui Market. Reefside Rarotonga will be open from 7.30 to about 5 for a month or so […]

Rule of fist should never apply

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I noted Norman George’s comments as reported in your court news of February 26 regarding assault on a female – a ‘minor assault,’ ‘way down on the scale of seriousness’, ’a domestic argument not in some lawless area of town but in their own home’, rendering it ‘just an argument’. Sorry Norman but […]

Hotel idea 'a load of hogwash'

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I write in response to a recent article published in Cook Islands Herald by Charles Pitt promoting the notion that government should seriously consider getting into the business of reviving the failed Vaima’anga hotel project. What a load of hogwash. For starters, why on earth would any person of a sane mind want […]

Kata - February 27, 2010

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in Kata

League double header today

Saturday 27 February 2010 | Published in League

If the weather is on our side today – the Avatiu swamp and Raemaru Park are the places to be for what will be two fantastic games of rugby league. At the swamp, the Eels will host 2009 champions the Tupapa-Maraerenga Panthers. On paper, these two giants of the local league scene are evenly matched […]

Finding peace in a storm

Friday 26 February 2010 | Published in Church Talk

To voyage with Jesus was to voyage in peace even in a storm. Now that is universally true. It is not something which happened once; it is something which still happens and which can happen for us. In the presence of Jesus we can have peace even in the wildest storms of life. Jesus gave […]

Seminar to walk through the Old and New Testaments

Friday 26 February 2010 | Published in Church Talk

The Titikaveka Cook islands Christian Church will be hosting a seminar titled ‘Walk Thru the Bible’ starting on March 1 and continuing through to March 5. The seminar will dissect the Old and New Testaments, presenting the scripture in a clear, concise and easy-to-understand format. Evangelist Dr Robert Siakimotu, president for the Open Air Campaigners […]