For the fifth year hundreds of people from all over Southern California gathered in Hart Park for the SCV Pacific Islander festival.
The festival, hosted by Kalakeke Pacific Island Dance Company, brings locals and natives closer to the pacific islands with native food, wares and entertainment.
Attendees were treated to traditional island entertainment on either of the two stages set up. On one stage dances performed various hula and other dances, on the other stage musicians displayed the sounds of their home nations.
Lining the outside of the festival were various small shops selling various small wares from shark tooth necklaces to wood carvings.
Local food vendors like L&L Hawaiian Barbecue in Santa Clarita served up island cuisine for attendees to try and grab a cup of shaved ice as a dessert.
“(Attendees) are grateful they are able to spend a day experiencing their culture, especially their children that aren’t able to go back home,” said Gladys Farrell the owner and director of Kalakeke Pacific Island Dance Company. “So they can have it here, enjoy the food, the different merchandise and go shopping.”
The event started at 10 a.m. and went until 4 p.m. for attendees to experience everything the festival has to offer. Those who missed it on Saturday can come back the same time on Sunday.
“Meeting different people, seeing how happy they are how they are taking in our culture and loving it, my favorite part,” Farrell said.
