Pasifka Festival 2019 – Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District

The Pasifika Festival returns to Shepparton and Victoria Park Lake on 23 November. Many students in Shepparton Schools participating in the Know Your Roots workshops have been busy preparing for the Pasifika Festival and will be participating. The South Pacific comes to Greater Shepparton or the Goulburn Valley!

In its fourth year, Pasifika Featival is unique to Greater Shepparton and Victoria as it is a stage that celebrates the rich cultures of the South Pacific with the highlight of the outcomes of the Know Your Roots (KYR) Program – local students showcasing what they have learnt about one of five Pacific Islands, their culture and language through storytelling, dance and song!

The Know Your Roots program was developed to help individuals of ages reconnect with their Polynesian heritage, to assist in their transition to living and embracing of life in their new country and home Australia. The Know Your Roots program has been active in the lives of over 150 youth in the two years it has been running in the Goulburn Valley. The program is currently running in four local schools in Greater Shepparton, and results of the program are shared on a greater scale at the Pasifika Festival each year. Through the rich cultures shared, all are able to gather greater understanding of each other, enabling stronger unified community.

The festival brings out into the spotlight the many gifted talents of youth from Pacific Island and Maori heritage and professional artists from their communities!

Plenty of island flavours to enjoy all evening and craft stalls to purchase goods from and take home so you don’t forget how the South Pacific came to Greater Shepparton or the Goulburn Valley!

Event Details

Program: Pasifika Festival
Location: Victoria Park Lake, Shepparton
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2019
Time: 3 PM – 9 PM
Cost: Free

Pasifika Festival Program

	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District acknowledges the Yorta Yorta People of the land which comprises the Goulburn Valley. We pay respect to tribal Elders, past, present and emerging and we celebrate their continuing culture and acknowledge the memory of their ancestors.
	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District is a peak body whose mission is to promote and represent the social, cultural and economic well-being of ethnic communities in the Goulburn Valley Region through the provision of quality and innovative settlement, refugee support, community development, and information and advocacy services.