2015 Aloha Spirit Award – Mat Lotomau

by | Dec 30, 2015 | News at the Center

Delsa Moe, Vice President Cultural Presentations and Jimmy Mapu, Director Guest Services (far left) join President of the Polynesian Cultural Center, Alfred Grace (far right) in congratulating Mat Lotomau (center with lei) who won the Spirit of Aloha Award along with...

Mele and Iosepa 2015

by | Dec 18, 2015 | Cultures of Polynesia

Christmas is a special time on the islands. We not only celebrate the joy and magic of the season, we know how to have fun! As a special holiday gift, we have prepared our own Christmas tale. Iosepa is our brave, Fijiian warrior. He is mighty, he is strong, he is a...
Lupulu: Traditional Tongan Dish You Must Try

Lupulu: Traditional Tongan Dish You Must Try

by | Dec 17, 2015 | Eat Polynesia!, Tonga

Make your own Tongan lūpulu at home You don’t need to live on a tropical island or cook in an underground oven to make lūpulu, one of Tonga’s most favorite dishes for your own feast:  As Alamoti Taumoepeau, manager of the Tonga Village at the Polynesian Cultural...
Tonga, the Friendly Islands

Tonga, the Friendly Islands

by | Dec 15, 2015 | Cultures of Polynesia, Tonga

Malo e lele! Welcome to the friendly islands of the Kingdom of Tonga. There are about 171 islands in the three main island groups of Tongatapu, Ha’apai, and Vava’u. Tonga has the distinction of being the only island nation that was never formally colonized by a...

Tonga Time

by | Dec 14, 2015 | Cultures of Polynesia, Tonga

Tonga, like it’s cousins across the Pacific, has it’s own approach to time. Today may mean tomorrow. Half an hour may be more like two hours or in some cases two days or even a week. If you are a foreigner this may take a bit of adjusting to, but remember you...

Tongan Feast For Christmas

by | Nov 24, 2015 | Cultures of Polynesia, Tonga

Tongan feasting: A serious custom [Author’s note: I have attended Polynesian feasts where they cooked 200 pigs, and fed thousands of people . . . but the first time I sat down at a Tongan kaipola feast, I was truly impressed.]   An expression of love and...

2016 Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Inductees

by | Oct 29, 2015 | News at the Center

The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announces the Class of 2016 The Polynesian Football Hall of Fame (PFHoF), which partners with the Cultural Center on a permanent museum exhibit near the front entrance, announced its Class of 2016 on October 7. The new inductees...

Training with the Heart and Soul of Polynesia

by | Oct 28, 2015 | News at the Center

Over the years the Polynesian Cultural Center has used various human resource training programs, many of them recognized around the world, but recently the PCC is taking a new tack — or more correctly, is turning to ancient Polynesian values to instill a PCC-specific...

Welcome to Fiji!

by | Oct 26, 2015 | Cultures of Polynesia, Fiji

    “Bula Vinaka” and welcome to Fiji! This phrase means more than simple hello or greeting, and the speaker proclaims “good health” or “good life” to the hearer. The approximate 330 inhabitable islands of Fiji are spread out over more than a million square...