Welcome to the biggest high school athletics event in the Southern Hemisphere!

This is Fiji's CocaCola Games. A electric event filled with competition, chants and island energy that is unmatched. We kick it with the student athletes, school alumni, cheerleaders and coaches, as they bring to life one of the most lively days in Suva!

Keepin It Fresh brings you all the freshness happening in our Moana communities, from Siva Afi Festivals to Pacific Cabarets.

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CREDITS: 

Director - Elizabeth Koroivulaono

Editor - Laura McBeath

DOP - Hayden Aull

Sound - Felix Biuwale, Elton Varoumue 

Extra Footage - FBC Tv, Fiji TV, MAI TV

Thank you to Lawrence Tikaram & Elton Varoumue 

American Idol winner has been doing the talk show rounds appearing on Live Kelly and Mark as well as on Good Morning America hosted by Michael Strahan with fellow finalist Megan Danielle.

Meanwhile his new single 'I'll be seeing you' hit number 1 after the finale on the iTunes charts.

He released the track on the 19th of May and on Sunday prior to the finale, James Blunts 'Monsters' held the top spot but moved to number 2 when 'I'll be seeing you' reached the number 1 spot overnight after Iam won.

Watch him sing the track in the American Idol finale here - 

Singer/Rapper Jelly Roll appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast recently and told Joe he was going to be performing in the final of American Idol this Sunday.

He then shared about a contestant he couldn't wait to meet and showed him Iam Tongi's audition video.

As the music filled the air, the soul-stirring vocals of Iam Tongi struck a chord with both Rogan and Jelly Roll, moving both of them to tears. 

In Tautua: Inked in Service, RNZ Social Media Journalist Faivaeselopepe Anric Sitanilei undergoes the transformative process of receiving the traditional Samoan malofie, also known as the tatau.

Through vivid storytelling and intimate interviews, the documentary unveils the evolving role of the tatau in a changing world, showcasing its enduring power as a testament to Samoan heart and spirit.

Sitanilei says the tatau has long been a shielded part of Samoan culture.

Tautua: Inked in Service is a celebration of heritage, tradition, and dedication to family and community and will be released on Sunday 28th May to coincide with the start of Samoan Language Week.

IOKAPETA IFOVANU MAOATE 

BEAUTY BY NUNU BUSINESS OWNER 

SAMOAN 

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My name is Iokapeta Ifovanu Maoate (nee Savea), I was born in Porirua, Wellington New Zealand.  My parents are from the villages of Siumu & Aleipata in Western Samoa.  I lived in Porirua for the first 12 years of my life but mostly grew up in Palmerston North.  I now reside in Brisbane, Australia and am a Full Time Lash Technician & Cosmetic Eyebrow Tattooist. 

You recently started your own business - what were the pathways that led you to what you're doing now?

I was hanging out at our local swimming pools here in Brisbane when I met up with an old friend of mine who mentioned her cousin who also lives in my suburb was training girls to be Lash Technicians.  She is a fully accredited trainer so I immediately called her up and she booked me in for 1 on 1 training to get me certified as a Lash tech, I also wanted to add more beauty services so I am certified to do Eyebrow Lamination & Lash lifts.  I…more

By Honestine Pa'ala-Fraser 

The Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti (PEAK) held their very first in-person talanoa in downtown Los Angeles on May 4. The talanoa, which was sponsored by Amazon Studios, featured panelists across the entertainment industry: actor Uli Latukefu, writer and PEAK co-founder Dana Ledoux Miller, filmmaker Kerry Warkia, and writer Freddie Gutierrez, moderated by PEAK co-founder Kristian Fanene Schmidt as they reflected on the future of Pasifika storytelling in Hollywood. 

PEAK is a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, California whose mission is to uplift and support the Pasifika community within the entertainment industry and 'expand Pasifika entertainment so that our creatives can thrive, evolve, and drive innovative storytelling that honors the richness and diversity across Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.'

“All Pasifika cultures come from oral tradition. Before we had a written language it was storytelling, and it was dance,” PEAK board member Averie Joy Maikalima O Makua Huffine shared with the CoconetTV.

“And the version of keeping that alive today is putting it on television and film. And that's how we're going to preserve these things.…more

Haku Creative rallies the community in Hawai'i to show their support for Kahuku's hometown boy Iam Tongi!

Singers (including past Hawaiian American Idol contestants), artists, actors, community leaders, and Iam's family put together this video to campaign for America's vote for their guy Iam. 

Mothers across the Pacific endure so much, they are Warriors that nurture and create our new generations – often in hard circumstances.

So there is no wonder Mothers are the most treasured in society and it is seen in Cultures and Traditions all around the world. 

However, Fiji in particular has certain traditions that are followed to make known about the sacrifices Mothers go through to bear their children. 

Once the baby is born, the new-born and the Mother spend four days isolated from extended families and those intending to visit as it is said that the first four days of a baby’s life is the most precious, this is called the “Vaka Bogi Va” (The Four Nights). 

Once the Bogi Va is done visitors may now be allowed to see and carry the new-born, this act is called the “i Roqoroqo” (To Carry).…more

PG recommended - Coarse language 

The Pivot Podcast hosted by former NFL stars Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor & Ryan Clark takes a trip to sit with none other than Dwayne The Rock Johnson for a conversation where they just all let their guards down, had some laughs, talked life lessons and shared their experiences and what matters most in their lives. 

Taking a trip down memory lane to what it was like growing up as an only child and having the dreams to play in the NFL one day, The Rock shares with Ryan how he never imagined being where he is today and frankly never wanted this life either, he just had other goals that led him to where he is now. Fitness and being in the gym is an obvious part of The Rock's life, but the motivation is far beyond the physical aspects it provides as he opens up that its symbolic to his relationship with his dad and their time they had when it was just the two of them.…more