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ALOHA to ALL!,
A celebration occurred in Southern California weekend before last - September 23rd & 24th, 2006 was the date for the 12th Annual Pacific Islander Festival - PIFA for short. When I arrived in San Diego, Ca in 1968 with my parents...they immediately sought out any kanaka maoli residing in the area. What they found was the Hui-O-Hawaii of San Diego...they joined...and became Lifetime Members. The Hui has it's annual luau and it is, and was, always a good time! Open to all, the Hui has remained a relatively small organization over the years.
As evolution will do...a thought sparked off movement in a direction with 'expansion' as the foundational matrix. A 'group of 12' held meeting for talk story about what they were experiencing mentally and what they were needing more of spiritually. When all the dust settled, pupus gone, poi pau...they called themselves Pacific Islander Festival Association, see: www.pacificislanders.com. Having been in radio broadcasting for 15+ years locally, they elected me Lead Emcee. This year I was joined onstage by a local wahine who has recently joined us in So Cal with her very own radio show on Z90.3 FM - her name may be very familiar to those back home in Hawaii...she is: TATI PELEGREEN. Tati is the only female voice on Z90 - and at the festival, she was a breath of fresh air! Another of our emcees from Honolulu is KUUALOHA TAYLOR or ALOHA TAYLOR, TV News Weather Anchor. Kuualoha just returned from the Minnesota TV marketplace...all that snow will send just about any local scrambling!
Back to PIFA - this, our 12th year, met our underlying motto: GO HUGE - OR - GO HOME.We are now considered 'the largest' festival of its kind in the Western Region! In just one weekend, we have approx 250,000 visitors pass thru for: live entertainment on stage featuring cultural dance troupes from around the world, 16 Food vendor booths - with da kine onolicious grinds, mini cultural villages with indigenous peoples present to share their culture including arts and crafts for da keikis! We also feature nearly 100 Arts and Crafts Vendor booths - with everything from stickers, posters, artwork, quilts, jewelry, packaged food products, printed tshirts and tank tops for all ages and sizes, body care products, aloha shirts, slippahs, surfboards, books, tapes, CD's...and more! We also have what we call 'Information Booths' for like: Law Enforcement Recruiting, Military Recruitment, Kamehameha Schools, Kau Inoa, cable and wireless companies, any kine.
Folks can pitch tent on perimeter fo stay over and we have designated parking areas for ease of coming and going - plus, we provide huge air conditioned luxury buses to give everyone/anyone a ride to the event site and back. Good Part: We are a Smoke-Free and Alcohol-Free event! Best Part: IT IS FREE!
So..............I would like to share with all of you, photos of our event...so you can see and know - that the Aloha Spirit is Alive and Well in Southern California!! Go to: http://www.islandpix.org/Pifa06_01.htm - enjoy! And if can - send poi...hard to get here!
A celebration occurred in Southern California weekend before last - September 23rd & 24th, 2006 was the date for the 12th Annual Pacific Islander Festival - PIFA for short. When I arrived in San Diego, Ca in 1968 with my parents...they immediately sought out any kanaka maoli residing in the area. What they found was the Hui-O-Hawaii of San Diego...they joined...and became Lifetime Members. The Hui has it's annual luau and it is, and was, always a good time! Open to all, the Hui has remained a relatively small organization over the years.
As evolution will do...a thought sparked off movement in a direction with 'expansion' as the foundational matrix. A 'group of 12' held meeting for talk story about what they were experiencing mentally and what they were needing more of spiritually. When all the dust settled, pupus gone, poi pau...they called themselves Pacific Islander Festival Association, see: www.pacificislanders.com. Having been in radio broadcasting for 15+ years locally, they elected me Lead Emcee. This year I was joined onstage by a local wahine who has recently joined us in So Cal with her very own radio show on Z90.3 FM - her name may be very familiar to those back home in Hawaii...she is: TATI PELEGREEN. Tati is the only female voice on Z90 - and at the festival, she was a breath of fresh air! Another of our emcees from Honolulu is KUUALOHA TAYLOR or ALOHA TAYLOR, TV News Weather Anchor. Kuualoha just returned from the Minnesota TV marketplace...all that snow will send just about any local scrambling!
Back to PIFA - this, our 12th year, met our underlying motto: GO HUGE - OR - GO HOME.We are now considered 'the largest' festival of its kind in the Western Region! In just one weekend, we have approx 250,000 visitors pass thru for: live entertainment on stage featuring cultural dance troupes from around the world, 16 Food vendor booths - with da kine onolicious grinds, mini cultural villages with indigenous peoples present to share their culture including arts and crafts for da keikis! We also feature nearly 100 Arts and Crafts Vendor booths - with everything from stickers, posters, artwork, quilts, jewelry, packaged food products, printed tshirts and tank tops for all ages and sizes, body care products, aloha shirts, slippahs, surfboards, books, tapes, CD's...and more! We also have what we call 'Information Booths' for like: Law Enforcement Recruiting, Military Recruitment, Kamehameha Schools, Kau Inoa, cable and wireless companies, any kine.
Folks can pitch tent on perimeter fo stay over and we have designated parking areas for ease of coming and going - plus, we provide huge air conditioned luxury buses to give everyone/anyone a ride to the event site and back. Good Part: We are a Smoke-Free and Alcohol-Free event! Best Part: IT IS FREE!
So..............I would like to share with all of you, photos of our event...so you can see and know - that the Aloha Spirit is Alive and Well in Southern California!! Go to: http://www.islandpix.org/Pifa06_01.htm - enjoy! And if can - send poi...hard to get here!
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