SPIRIT OF PASEFIKA (COMMUNITY OUTREACH)

Developed from our initial appearance at Moomba Festival Parade in 2017, SPIRIT OF PASEFIKA has become our key Community Outreach and Engagement project. An annual performance, SPIRIT OF PASEFIKA is designed to bring together a large cohort of Pasefika performers, rehearse a set that showcases a variety of Pasefika cultures, then perform this set to large audiences. Our main performance events are Moomba Festival Parade (City of Melbourne) and Pasifix (Gaba Musik, Arts Centre Melbourne).

SPIRIT OF PASEFIKA performers come from the island nations of Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Niue, Tuvalu, Tokelau, PNG, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Kuki Airani (Cook Islands), and Hawai’i. Every year we announce a call-out to community then spend 5-6 weeks preparing for our big performances.

In 2021 and 2023 we also included performances at the PASIFIX shows held at Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

List of Spirit of Pasefika performances:

Event and YearPerformance
Moomba Festival Parade 2017Spirit of Polynesia (with Nuholani, Tama Tatau, Nesian Pearl, and Sounds of Polynesia)
Moomba Festival Parade 2018Spirit of Pasefika
Moomba Festival Parade 2019Spirit of Pasefika
Moomba Festival Parade 2020 Spirit of Pasefika
Pasifix 2021Spirit of Pasefika
Moomba Festival Parade 2022Spirit of Pasefika
Moomba Festival Parade 2023 and
Pasifix 2023
Spirit of Pasefika
Moomba Festival Parade 2024Event cancelled due to extreme weather

Cover Photo: ‘Spirit of Pasefika’ performers at Moomba Festival Parade 2023 (Photo copyright: PICAA Inc.)