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Penesa wins 2019 World Fireknife Championship title
Falaniko Penesa of Samoa, by way of Disneyland Hong Kong, won the 2019 Polynesian Cultural Center’s World Fireknife Championship title in Hawaii.
A one-of-a-kind hands-on Polynesian cooking experience
Using a traditional Samoan umu (fire pit), guests now have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves into the Polynesian culture by preparing their very own home-cooked island meal! Our host, Creasepaul, thoroughly guides you through each step from beginning to end. As a native of Samoa, Creasepaul grew up learning how to efficiently live off the land and helped prepare fresh, healthy food for his family. After all, it is Samoan custom that men do the cooking! While the rocks in the umu are heating up, you’ll learn the proper way to prepare various Samoan cuisines including taro, green bananas, breadfruit, and even coconut-cream dishes such as palusami and fai’ai eleni.
World Fireknife Competition
Ticket information and schedules are available for the 2019 Fireknife Competition held at the Polynesian Cultural Ceneter! New features are on the website, including a link to our live stream.
Samoan Family Traditions: The Sacred Duty of Brothers in Samoa
In the Samoan culture, a brother is always supposed to protect his sister, as reflected in the old Samoan saying “The pupil of a brother’s eye is his sister”.
MOST POPULAR POSTS
Visit Laie: New website explores Oahu’s north shore treasure!
Visitlaie.com — a new website about Laie, home of the Polynesian Cultural Center — consolidates visitor information in one convenient place.
The Village Approach: Māori Child Rearing
Maori culture is built upon the premise that…“Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari, he toa takitini” (“my achievements are not of myself, but because of the many”.) Māori culture personifies the belief that “it takes a village to raise a child”.
Polynesian Cultural Center pioneer: Patoa Benioni
More than 50 years ago, Patoa — who was born in Aitutaki in 1941 but spent most of his boyhood on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands — played a key role as an original Polynesian Cultural Center performer. Today, almost everybody calls him Patoa or Uncle Patoa, but like some Polynesians, his actual name is much longer: Te Are Toa O Te Patoa o Maouna Tama Pikikaa Benioni.
Long-time friend Pulefano Galea’i remembered Patoa … as “a great singer, leader, composer, and a great drummer. But one thing he always had in mind, he wanted to bring people here from the Cook Islands.
“Yesterday Patoa and I sat together watching a full-fledged Cook Island group. “Patoa, you can never be forgotten for all that you’ve contributed to the Polynesian Cultural Center, to Laie, and to all of us,” Galea’i said.
Cook Islands performers thrill at the Polynesian Cultural Center
The Cook Islands group “consists of five drummers, four female dancers, four male dancers, and two weavers plus the group leaders,” said PCC senior manager William Mahoni, who has been coordinating logistics for them. He added they perform every afternoon in a special mini-village located between the PCC’s Hawaiian and Tahitian Villages, and also several evenings each week in the Center’s Hukilau Marketplace
13 Best Beaches in North Shore Oahu
The beaches along the North Shore of Oahu are what dreams are made of. Sand, waves, tropical trees swaying in the breeze and a magical mix of colorful sea life and majestic turtles. What you may not know, however, is how distinctly unique each beach is. Want to learn to surf? Castles might be your best spot. Want to see world class surfing? Then it’s Bonzai Pipeline all the way, baby! Read more to find the perfect beach for your vacation.
Polynesian Cultural Center showcases Cook Islanders
The Polynesian Cultural Center will showcase a group of 17 performers and cultural leaders from the Cook Islands for a six-week run from July 17-August 24, 2017.
PCC manager William Mahoni, who has been coordinating the group’s appearance at the Center, said, “We have had a few small groups and special visitors from the Cook Islands over the years, but this will be the first time we will have a group stay for six weeks. We’re excited.”
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