Gaoioi Poumele, right, joins other audience members in showering the Tausala Manaia dancers with money as they perform at the Portland/Vancouver Samoan Festival held Saturday, July 13, 2024, at Peninsula Park in North Portland. Poumele says this is customary during Samoan dances as a way to honor the performers. She has three children performing in the group, ages 11, 7, and 5.
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A crowd gathers to watch Teva Oriata, a Polynesian dance group, at the festival. While the festival centers on Samoan culture, it is produced in partnership with and features performances by other Pacific Islander communities too. SPDC Executive Director Jacinta Galea’i says that the broader Pacific Islander community is "invisible" in the Portland and Vancouver area, and "so we have to make opportunities ourselves."
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John Utuga holds his daughter Alia, 3, and sings along to the Samoan national anthem at the festival. Utuga, who is Samoan and moved to Portland last year from Hawaii, is attending the festival for the first time. "Far away from home, this brings me close," he says.
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Christian Faaopega, left, and Kenneth Ahching, right, of LB6 Island BBQ, keep a close eye on their huli-huli chicken and ribs. LB6 Island BBQ is a catering service attached to First Samoan Assembly of God church on North Lombard Street. Ahching says he enjoys cooking at events like this and "hearing how much people love the food."
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An order of pagikeke, also known as Samoan pancakes, waits to be eaten in the Taste of Samoa food truck, which is based in Tacoma, Wash.
Anna Lueck / OPB
A Tausala Manaia dancer prepares to perform.
Anna Lueck / OPB
Beckham Hairell, 8, hugs his mom Inga Hairell, following the performance of the Tausala Manaia youth dance group. Inga Hairell, who is half-Samoan, says she's excited to see her kids connect to their heritage in this way. "We do things with my family," she says, "but not physically having them here — this is like a new family. It's good for the kids to be with people that look like them."
Anna Lueck / OPB
Guided by their instructor, members of the Tausala Manaia youth dance group perform at the third annual Portland/Vancouver Samoan Festival on July 13, 2024. This was the inaugural performance of the group, which was created by the Samoa Pacific Development Corporation to give Samoan youth a place to learn Samoan dance and language together.
Anna Lueck / OPB
Samoan communities gathered at Peninsula Park in North Portland on Saturday for the third annual Portland/Vancouver Samoan Festival. This event is sponsored by the Samoa Pacific Development Corporation, also known as SPDC, a nonprofit whose goal is to support local Samoans through education, housing, healthcare and youth empowerment programs.
The festivities included music, dance performances, and vendors selling foods like huli-huli chicken, lumpia, and pagikeke, also known as Samoan pancakes.
According to SPDC Project Coordinator Motutama Sipelii, the purpose of the festival is to increase visibility for Samoan communities in the region and provide a space for Samoans and other Pacific Islander communities to participate in cultural practices and build bridges. “Some of these families have been living in Oregon or Portland for years,” Sipelii says, “and never experienced any cultural opportunities like this.”
New to the festival this year is the Tausala Manaia dance group, a SPDC-sponsored program for youth ages 5-13. The program started at the urging of several parents, who wanted a place for their children to learn cultural dances and practice Samoan language together.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as the group took the stage. “We were all hoping for this,” says parent Gaoioi Poumele, whose three children, ages 11, 7, and 5, all performed. “I hope it continues, and they add more activities for kids to learn their culture.”
