The Tōtaranui 250 Trust is so excited to announce that Fly My Pretties is coming to Waitohi/Picton for a once-in-a-lifetime free concert.

The 15-strong cast features frontman Barnaby Weir, Anna Coddington, A Girl Named Mo, Hollie Smith, LA Mitchell, Mel Parsons, Ria Hall, Aaron Stewart, Age Pryor, Iraia Whakamoe, James Coyle, Jarney Murphy, Laughton Kora, Nigel Patterson and Ryan Prebble.

The free concert follows an open day where the public can climb on board the Tuia 250 vessels, meet the crews, indulge in delicious kai and be entertained my multicultural performers.

The Tuia 250 events commence on Thursday 21 November with a Pōwhiri led by tangata whenua at Meretoto/Ship Cove. The commemorative vessels including the HMB Endeavour replica from Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney and the a’afaite i te Ao Mā’ohi, a va’a moana from Pape'ete, Tahiti, will then sail through Tōtaranui to arrive in Waitohi/Picton on Friday 22 November. Throughout the weekend the vessels will be open to the public to hop onboard and have a look around.

Cast member Ria Hall says: “Fly My Pretties has always been about celebrating diversity through music, so it’s fitting to be performing at an event which commemorates our unique tales of arrival. It’s also timely to address, acknowledge and learn our own history, to put our nation in good stead in the present through a lens of understanding. The good, the bad and the ugly.”