Waikato’s first Teuila festival celebrates the colour and culture of Samoa
A festival celebrating Samoan culture, was held for the first time in the Mighty Waikato on September 7.
The festival was full of colour as the culture, food, people, laughter, and the ‘cheeeeehoooooo’ screams from the island style entertainers, brought the feeling of home- Samoa, to the crowd.
The day marked the first Teuila festival in the Waikato, making it a special event to remember. The festival is named after Samoa’s national plant, which has a vibrant red flower.
The event was held at at the K’aute Pacific Fale and witnessed by Samoan church members from around the Waikato region, (who were sponsors of the event), and the Waikato Samoan community.
President of the Waikato Samoan Association (WSA) Lesa Landy Tyrell Nonoa acknowledged Samoa, Te a’tu Nuku pele (beloved country), for starting Teuila festival.
She said it is a whole week that celebrates about Samoa, the culture, language and by this event, they are gathering everyone to celebrate all aspects of Samoa in the Waikato region for the very first time.
Fosa Letoga, a food stall vendor at the festival, has been living in New Zealand for over 30 years said, “when he was in Samoa, there was no Teuila festival”.
He is very thankful for this festival to be celebrated in Waikato and feels it benefits the young Samoan generation in New Zealand to know their roots, their culture and more about their homeland Samoa.
He said that it is also a great opportunity for them to come to the first Teuila festival to be able to set up a stall and to sell their food to the community. Fosa Letoga sold chop suey serves, potato salad, sweet and sour, pudding and raw fish at his stall.
Sita Fakaosilea, one of the stall vendors from the Tongan community, said that she was very happy to be part of this Teuila festival in Waikato for the first time, to learn new things and new culture from different islands in the Pacific.
Nonoa thanked all the sponsors – Lotteries Grants, K’aute Pasifika Trust & KPT Smoke-Free Services, Look Sharp Produce, LM4 Group, Waikato Pacific Business Network, Fautasi, Traffic Management Waikato, Great River Catering for their contributions, that made the first Waikato Teuila festival a possible one.
