This year, festivities will stretch along Buckingham St, from Buckingham Green to Library Green, with an afternoon and early evening full of entertainment and installations.
The entertainment lineup includes former Arrowtown resident Kathleen Brentwood, fire dancer Milly Bea and Queenstown band Freefall, along with 220 school pupils of all ages from across the Wakatipu.
Arrowtown Preschool manager Jane Foster has been part of the preschool’s Matariki festivities since they began more than 20 years ago.
In a statement she said she was proud to see how the event had evolved into a wider community celebration.
"Matariki has always been a mainstay in the Arrowtown Preschool’s event calendar as a cultural celebration.
"As we are a non-profit community preschool, it has also become a big fundraising event for us.
"This year we will be fundraising with kai stalls near Buckingham Green and we encourage people from near and far to come and join in the celebrations, eat some kai and watch our tamariki shine on stage."
At the Lakes District Museum, Arrowtown resident Gemma Cribb (Ngati Manuhiri) and renowned astrophysicist Prof Brian Boyle would share their knowledge, while the museum would also display imagery from the Winterstellar Astrophotography Competition.
The Allied Press-produced short film series "Toitū te whenua — te reo place names of our whenua" will screen in the pop-up cinema at the Athenaeum Hall.
Director Ann Wyatt said there would also be braziers, light installations and educational elements in business windows and at the museum.
The full schedule of events is available via arrowtown.com.
The event will run on Friday, June 28 from 3.30pm to 8.30pm.
