San Diego’s Pacific Islanders celebrate culture and heritage

Come celebrate the Pacific Islanders Festival ( Photo by Franco Folini via Flickr)

This Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27, the Pacific Islander Festival Association (PIFA) of San Diego will being holding its 15^th annual event to bring more understanding and education about their culture and heritage to the San Diego community. The festival mixes traditional food, dance and customs from the Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian areas. The theme this year is Hokule’a – The Journey Celebrates 15th Year Anniversary.

This FREE cultural experience begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Ski Beach, located off of Ingraham St. in Mission Bay(View Larger Map). The day will be filled with splashes of island entertainment and offers insight into these culturally rich groups of people.

The two day event includes a variety of food from different Pacific Islander Restaurants, a chance to meet Miss Pacific Islander of San Diego 2009-2010 and her court, entertainment by Taupou Samoa, and a chance to support the PIFA Scholarship Program. For anyone who wants to join in from out of town, PIFA also offers discounted room rates with the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina.

Over 50,000 people attend the PIFA Festival every year. To accommodate this large gathering, they are offering shuttle service from three different locations to make transportation to the event as easy as possible.  The shuttles pick-up and drop off every 15 minutes from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.  The SUN RUNNER shuttle spot is the closest parking lot to I-5 if you are coming from the north on Pacific Coast Highway. The SOUTH SHORES PARK & BOAT LAUNCH is located at the parking lot just before Sea World on South Shores Park. The third shuttle location is HOSPITALITY POINT and is located off of Sports Arena Blvd on Quivira Road towards the Hyatt Hotel. All parking and shuttle locations will be clearly marked with PIFA banners.

Enjoy the sun and Mission Bay this weekend while learning and celebrating the Pacific Islanders culture.