Melanesians stand up! we're shedding light on all our beautiful Melanesian islands, traditions, people and most importantly (in Jane's opinion😂) THE FOOD." Here's how we does it in this unique part of the Moana!

Watch the combustion of culture woven into art, dance and speech at the opening ceremony of the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture.

As the world's largest celebration of indigenous Pacific Islanders ends, we take a look at the weeks festivities, celebrations and the coming together of our people on one island.

Catch all the action of the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture Opening Ceremony from the livestream via Hawaii News Now here! ⏯️

The Teuila Festival is in full action from Palusami making to Coconut husking! A festival showcasing the Samoan culture!  Fa'afetai Lava Samoa Tourism Authority

We explore the freshness at the Siva Afi Festival at the Mangere Arts Center. This day of celebrating the art of fire knife dancing is also one lead by an all-female dance troop. Watch as these wahine toa reclaim the art of Siva Afi and show that it is an art form that women can excel in despite being a predominately male field. Peep the performances, smiles, dancers, and vibrant colours of this incredibly empowering festival!

Pacific ingenuity and fashion at it's best as our people stride down the runway in curated presentations, encompassing our vibrancies and Mana.

Be captivated by the youngest Cook Island drummer present at FestPAC and traditional dances from all over the Pacific.

Every year Hawaiians hold a parade in celebration of the life of King Kamehameha, the legendary ruler who united the Hawaiian Islands. A day of festivities, dance and aloha.

On the 23 April 1943 the Japanese bombed the Tuvaluan island of Funafuti. From this devastation the ever resiliant Tuvalu community now rallies to commemorate this event as a day of salvation. Keep it Fresh with the Tuvalu community as they celebrate their history Tuvalu Style 🇹🇻🌺 - Keepin It Fresh brings you all the freshness happening in our Moana communities, from Siva Afi Festivals to Fashion Shows.

Vaka arrivals of FestPAC! At the epic festival of Pacifhc arts a number of our majestic double hulled vaka sailed into Oahu Hawaii from islands as far as Tahiti and the Cook Islands. *Watch this beautiful event where different nations of the Pacific welcomed their islands on shore in this age old celebration of vakas travelling the Moana. #festpac #vaka #pacific #hawaii - by Arts & Culture Journalist Destiny Momoiseā made with the help of Creative New Zealand

Te Maeva Nui took Auckland by storm with hundreds of Cook Islanders flocking to represent their island groups! 🇨🇰✨ Check out the highlights of this popular festival that is pulling in Kuki’s of all ages to perform their hearts out! 🌺

The 12th Festival of Pacific Arts (FOPA) is to be held in Guam in 2016. The Festival of the Pacific Arts is held every four years since 1972, and brings together artists and cultural practitioners from around the Pacific region for two weeks of festivity. It is recognized as a major regional cultural event, and is the largest gathering in which Pacific peoples unite to enhance their respect and appreciation of one another. The idea of a Festival of Pacific Arts was conceived by the Conference of the South Pacific Commission (now the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, SPC) in an attempt to combat the erosion of traditional customary practices. Since 1972, delegations from 27 Pacific Island Nations and Territories have come together to share and exchange their cultures at each Pacific Arts Festival. A delegation of 2,500 performers, artists and cultural practitioners is expected, in addition to thousands of visitors from Asia and festival followers who see to it they are part of the festival every four years. The 27 Pacific Island Countries and Territories expected at the festival are: American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Easter Island, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji Islands, French Polynesia, Guam (2016 Host), Hawaii, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna. Guam made its bid to host the 12th Festival of Pacific Arts and was awarded this distinction at the 10th Festival held in American Samoa, in 2008. It was during the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts held in the Solomon Islands, July 2012, where Guam officially received the festival flag. The 2016 festival is Guam’s opportunity to showcase its unique Chamorro culture that has survived colonization of the past and modernization of the present.

When the whole of the Moana comes together, we celebrate our strength, our mana and the spirit of our arts 🌺 FestPAC Opening Night shows all the best of the Pacific performance, and cultural treasure from Islands across Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia! #OneMoana - by Arts & Culture Journalist Destiny Momoiseā made with the help of Creative New Zealand

Dance of the Gods - Haka Manu (Bird Dance) a fierce dance performed in Te Henua Enana (the Marquesas Islands) Like us on Facebook Subscribe to our YouTube

Dancers from Ke Kai o Kahiki perform the Tū Oe - a traditional style of hula, or helo; winners of the Kāne Kahiko section in 2009. The Merrie Monarch Festival honors the legacy left by King David Kalākaua, who inspired the perpetuation of their traditions, native language and the arts. The week-long festival features an internationally acclaimed hula competition, a crafts fair, an art show, hula shows, and a grand parade through Hilo town. For more information and dates, check out the Merrie Monarch Festival website

Heilala is BACK! This year’s Heilala Festival marks the official come back of the annual festivity since the covid-19 pandemic. It is one of Tonga’s significant national events conducted every year to celebrate His Majesty the King’s birthday. See the incredible Float Parade take to the streets of Tonga! 🇹🇴 - Keepin It Fresh brings you all the freshness happening in our Moana communities, from Siva Afi Festivals to Fashion Shows.

Our friends at 'Tutu on the Beach' captured some highlights from the Heilala Festival float parade or 'folouti' as it's known in the Kingdom. Check out this years Miss Heilala contestants who feature on the floats.  Keep an eye out on the Live Stream Tonga FB page for the Miss Heilala Prizegiving & Ball. {{9594}}

Heiva happens once a year and part of the festival & celebration is Tahiti's traditional sports - Tu'aro Ma'ohi Ancestral and Traditional Games. It is like the Olympics of what the Tahitians tupuna used to do.  Competition includes Rock lifting, coconut tree climbing, old school Tahitian wrestling, husking coconuts, javelin and a weighted log run carrying fruit. In 2015 Tahiti opened their games up to other Pacific Islands nations to come and compete also. Witness the Fitness!

Listed as one of the worlds best festivals on the Fest300 site, Heiva i Tahiti is an iconic event and now in its 135th year. Heiva comes from the words 'Hei' - to assemble & 'va' - community places, so it relates to anything from sports to music, singing & dancing which have always been essential to Polynesian culture and celebrates these traditional activities in a festival setting ..... it doesn't hurt that the location is on a stunning tropical island. The main drawcard of Heiva is the traditional dance.  The dance competitions are some of the most important events in Heiva with dancers preparing & training for them months in advance.  43 singers & dance groups from different categories battle it out over 2 weeks with music, choreography & costumes based on historical or legendary themes and uniquely created for each Heiva. Heiva is also a showcase for sports competitions and games & focuses on traditional & ancient activities like stone lifting competitions, javelin throwing, outrigger canoe races, fruit carrying races & palm tree climbing.   It's a festival for the whole family with something for everyone. Traditional Sports Competitions - Fruit Carrying race The ladies get involved too!  Keep an eye out for more stories, coming soon to the Coconet!

Check out the amazing show at this years Heiva i Tahiti Festival!  In Tahitian, the word Heiva (hei meaning to assemble, and va meaning community places) refers to activities, pastimes, physical exercise, and festivals.  The first Heiva i Tahiti was in 1881 (named Tiurai) and has since grown into a symbol of the Tahitian culture, where celebrations are held for the month of July - including traditonal sports and games, as well as traditional dance.

Ori Tahiti (Tahitian Dance) highlights from the annual Heiva i Tahiti festival earlier in July this year. Suggested Links: How to drum like a Tahitian Boss  Pacific Dances showcased at Miss World 2015

Heiva i Tahiti is back after 2 years of no competition. The competition in Tahiti started on Friday the 1st of July and will continue through to the 16th of July featuring 5 nights of compeition, an awards evening and 2 winners evenings. Check out Onaku Ellis' hura tau above as she competes for the Best Dancer title. 

Heiva - Tahitian Dance Festival. Where groups tell their own stories through their choreography! 

Heiva I Tahiti Dance 2018 - where the best of the best Tahitian performers gather and showcase their astounding abilities.

AHUTORU NUI The Coconet TV presents 'Heiva I Tahiti' a 4 part profile on 4 dance crews competing at the biggest Tahitian festival in the world. Part 1 brings the highlights of "Ahutoru Nui"

TEFANA I AHURAI The Coconet TV presents 'Heiva I Tahiti' a 4 part profile on 4 dance crews competing at the biggest Tahitian festival in the world. Part 2 brings the highlights of "Tefana I Ahurai"

HEIKURA NUI The Coconet TV presents 'Heiva I Tahiti' a 4 part profile on 4 dance crews competing at the biggest Tahitian festival in the world. Part 3 brings the highlights of "Heikura Nui"

Check out the traditional games competition in Tahiti as part of the Heiva Festival. This year they had delegations from Samoa, the Cook Islands and Hawaii who came to compete as well.

Samoa turnt it UP throwing an extravaganza for both the Teuila Festival and the Small Island Developing States Conference this year in Apia! PANI & PANI were there to get in on the action, from the Fa'afine Pageant to Miss Samoa and everything in between!

Check out some of the highlights from this year's Festival of Pacific Arts held in Guam! Delegates from 27 Pacific nations converged onto Guam for two weeks to celebrate the large plethora of Pacific Art - from Contemporary Art to Fashion, Dance, Traditional tattooing, Arts and Crafts and everything in between! SUGGESTED LINKS Festival of Pacific Arts Opening Ceremony Fashion at the Festival of Pacific Arts!

Samoana Jazz & Arts Festival is an annual weekend to weekend jazz & arts festival held between and across the Islands of American Samoa and Samoa. The beautiful Iva Lamkum takes us on her experience.

With the Jim Beam Homegrown being a celebration of Aotearoas music scene, we have a jam with Stan Walker, Ladi6, Katchafire, Home Brew and other great Aotearoa musicians the FRESH way.

We Keeping it Fresh at Waitangi Ki Manukau down at Barry Curtis Park.

Kam na bane ni Mauri! 🇰🇮 Take a look back at one of the greatest moments of the 2024 #FestPAC Opening Ceremony, when the Kiribati delegation took to the stage and showcased one of their many beautiful traditional dances! 🌺

Mauri from Kiribati! 🇰🇮 Performers from the island of Kiritimati in Kiribati took to the stage at FestPAC during Day 1 of the Heritage Dance Performances, check out their performance here! 🌺

Oire Tokoroa perform their Ura Pa'u at Te Maeva Nui NZ 2021. In their drum dance they show how the borders that were closed does not limit us and that God’s plan for us is to bring hope and a bright future. We are only limited by our own borders that keep us separated from Him and others. Resilience can come in many forms, in that, we can break the borders in our thinking, that limits us from realising our full potential. We open with the gateway ‘which can be likened to the opening of the heavens, and as it opens, here comes Oire Tokoroa. With God we are free.

The Makefu Village gather to celebrate their day with food, games, dancing and other festivities.

Welcome to the beautiful Cook Islands! The land of beautiful smiles and vibrant traditions. In this segment, we go into the Marsters house to take a tour behind the scenes of Te Maeva Nui costume making. We get an up-close look into what it takes to make garments fit for a stage and jaw-dropping performance. From parrot fish scales to sand... a lot of intricate details go into making a Kuki fit. Keepin It Fresh brings you all the freshness happening in our Moana communities, from Siva Afi Festivals to Pacific Cabarets.

Experience the drumming, dance, carving, language and culture of the Marquesas Islands!