Pasifika Festival 2017 – Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District

Pasifika Festival will be a spectacular 2 day showcase of Pacific Islander music, dance, art, food, fashion, comedy and culture taking place at WestSide Riverlinks in Mooroopna and Queen’s Gardens in Shepparton.

Friday 10 November 2017

Presented by Vic Pasifika Productions in partnership with Multicultural Arts Victoria and Riverlinks, Pasifika Festival will kick off at WestSide Riverlinks with a very special evening of comedy and music. International comedy star Tofiga Fepulea’i (ex-Laughing Samoans, NZ) will bring tears of laughter as he performs his new solo show, I Gan’t Belive It. Tofiga will take you on a whirlwind ride of life changing experiences from his childhood and having to grow up around his extended family and the Pacific community. Audiences will also be treated to an amazing new music performance, PolyFusion Sounds, as Kitchener and Phyllz Robertson take the stage with up and coming local young Pacific music talent.

Saturday 11 November

The Queen’s Gardens will come to life from 3pm till 8pm with a free, non-stop celebration of Pacific sounds, flavours and colours for all the family. Be welcomed to country by local traditional owners, experience the mana and grace of Polynesian dance group Nuholani, be uplifted by the rnb, soul and gospel sounds of local Pacific group, The Robertsons, dance to the Island reggae grooves of Melbourne’s own T-Rhythm, be blown away by traditional Cook Island Drummers, and the centrepiece of the day, the Know Your Roots Showcase, will feature dynamic new cultural performances by Pacific students from Wanganui SC, Shepparton High School, McGuire College and Notre Dame College. Festival goers will enjoy Island foods and a variety of cultural displays and activities from local Pacific and Indigenous communities. The event is free and welcoming of people of all ages and backgrounds.

Know Your Roots Program Director and Vic Pasifika Productions committee member Mellisa Silaga says, ‘Pasifika Festival is the only event of its kind in the Goulburn Valley creating a space for us to grow contemporary Pacific voices alongside the traditional culture. Pasifika Festival brings together programs like the Know Your Roots learning experience and PolyFusion Sounds to give our people, especially our young people, a face and a voice that is currently only seen in trickles in the Goulburn Valley. It also gives the community at large the opportunity to understand our beautiful cultures through the eyes and hearts of our young and our talented Pacific diaspora artists from all around Australia and New Zealand.’

Multicultural Arts Victoria Creative Producer, Anita Larkin who has been working alongside the community to develop the festival says,‘The Pacific community in Shepparton is bursting with talent! Over the past two years MAV has worked with Vic Pasifika Productions to develop a number of very successful projects that have brought the community together to celebrate and share culture, traditions and diversity. MAV applauds the efforts of committee members Mellisa Silaga, Kitchener and Phyllz Robertson and Unity Smith who have worked tirelessly to bring their vision to life and who are absolutely passionate and committed to building capacity of their community and increasing positive life opportunities for young people in their community.’

Vic Pasifika Productions who produces the event, is a grass roots movement of Pacific artists and culture keepers in Shepparton passing on knowledge and living culture, through the arts. Vic Pasifika Productions has initiated the festival to provide a platform and a voice for the diverse Pacific communities in Shepparton. Vic Pasifika works collaboratively with partners, Multicultural Arts Victoria and Riverlinks to deliver a high-quality festival and significant cultural development and community arts programs for young Pacific people in Shepparton, Know Your Roots and PolyFusion Sounds. These programs are about reconnecting Shepparton’s young Pacific people with their heritage, empowering them to live their culture proud and strong, and inspiring leadership in the community.

Details:

Show: I Gan’t Belive It feat Tofiga Fepulea’I
Date & Time: Friday 10 November, 7.30pm
Venue: Riverlinks WestSide, Echuca Rd, Mooroopna
Tickets: Full $35/ Conc $25/ VIP $80/ Riverlinks Member $30
Bookings: 03 5832 9511 or visit www.riverlinksvenues.com.au

Show: Pasifika Festival Community Day
Date & Time: Saturday 11 November, 3pm – 8pm
Venue: Queen’s Gardens, cnr Wyndham and Nixon Sts, Shepparton

	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.