After a tough few years wading through the effects of the Covid pandemic, Rarotonga’s Punanga Nui Market is once again a hive of activity, particularly on a Saturday.

And it is about to get another boost of vitality with cultural groups being offered the chance to showcase their talents and make a few dollars in the process.

Starting tomorrow, Saturday 12 August, Vaka Tereora will be the first group to grace the main stage following on from their recent performance at Te Maeva Nui 2023, where they took out a number of different awards.

Cook Islands Investment Corporation chief executive officer Allan Jensen says they have decided to open up the market for groups to perform every Saturday at 10am – with a specific focus on school groups.

Punanga Nui Market manager William Taripo says he believes it is important to

celebrate rich Cook Islands culture and encourage the youth to keep our culture alive through dance and performance.

“They don’t need to be big groups, they can be small, and we have a great MC, the legendary Papatua Papatua and sound systems,” he says.

The Saturday performances at the market will also provide a good opportunity for the participating groups to earn some great money as a way of fundraising, for school trips, performance uniforms and other items.

“Punanga Nui Market will pay them a small fee and they can earn several hundreds of dollars of donations. Please reach out to Market Assistant Manager, Jealana Heather-Lotomau, call into our office or phone 28370,” he says.

“With tourism back in force, they can be sure that they’ll have a captivated audience.”