Mauke will celebrate its very first Mauke Day in Rarotonga next month, marking a historic moment for the island community ahead of the nation’s annual Te Maeva Nui celebrations and the 60th anniversary of self-governance.

Speaking to Cook Islands News, Mauke mayor Joanne Rongoape Stephens confirmed the celebration will take place on Friday, July 18, and is being organised to bring together Maukeans living on the island and those residing in Rarotonga.

“It’s the big celebration,” Stephens said. “Well, I think you saw the chairman of Mauke in Rarotonga, I saw him on the news talking about the Mauke Day. The idea is from Tina, the MP’s wife, that if we agree to have a Mauke Day in Rarotonga … we agree, because she’ll be the backbone of getting everything ready.”

Stephens said the celebration is about strengthening connections between Maukeans.

“It’s to bring our people in Mauke and Maukeans in Rarotonga together, especially the Maukeans,” she said.

This will be the first time Mauke Day has ever been celebrated, and for Stephens, it’s a personal first as well.

“Yes, this is the first time, and for myself, it’s the first time ever that I will attend the Mauke Day and Te Maeva Nui in my whole life,” she shared. “We never go. We are never allowed to go, never allowed by our parents.”

While the new Mauke Day celebration adds excitement, preparations for Te Maeva Nui are also underway.

“We’re thinking of practising, starting by next week, we should start practising, three days a week,” she said last week.

Despite the physical distance between the island and Rarotonga, Stephens said the Mauke community is finding ways to work together to prepare for the national event.

She explained that once the group from Mauke arrives in Rarotonga, they will join forces with the others.