Pacific Islander Festival

ISLANDER LOVE.
First time checking out the festival and will not be the last. It is a «picnic» style festival so bring those beach mats or lawn chairs. The festival is in the park and behind the library. There’s plenty of parking but can be hard to score a space if there are other events going on in the area. Expect to see a park full of pacific islanders (hawaii, samoa, tongan, guam, tahiti, etc…) and there are a handful of food booths to get your grub.
TAHITIAN PERFORMANCES were my favorite. Every islander event I’ve attend since I was young… tahitian were always my favorite. On another note, the men… yah… hmm wow.
On to the food. Take note, do not eat before you come here. Eat when you get here. I learned my mistake. But i was still able to get some goodies.
OTAI — this is sold at the Tongan food booth for $ 5. Probably the best mango beverage I’ve ever had in my life. It was creamy and sweet with mango meat and tiny bits of young coconut. I could drink this everyday and be happy — so delicious.
PANIKEKE — this is old at the Samoan food booth for 2 for $ 1. It reminds me of a sweet and dense ball of dough resembling a big donut hole with a crunchy outer layer. Fried like a donut but sweeter.
SHAVED ICE — this is sold at the Refreshment booth for $ 3. WTF!!! THIS BOOTH NEEDS HELP, its ran by little kids. You buy your ticket at another booth, walk to the booth next to it with two windows «Order Here» and another window «Pick Up». Give ticket, place order, wait in the pick-​up window area FOREVER, when you get to the front they ask you for your order again, and then they make it on the spot. They make the shaved ice on the crappy side, so much syrup its too sweet to drink and they hand you a messy cup. I was wearing white and the syrup got on my clothes when they handed me the cup. It’s just disorganized and you should not wait that long to get a cup of ice with syrup in it.
See you next yr.

This is an annual festival that hosts not only the popular Pacific Islands, but also the not so popular ones too = which is great. You get to see performances and eat very generous portions of food from: Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian Islands. THey also provide community outreach programs, scholarships, DIsaster Relief, health screenings and just an overall love for all.
I was greeted with a plumeria flower in my ear and tons of food in my belly. I bought a Fresh Flower Leis for only $ 5.
The festival is small but it has a lot to offer.

Came to check it out and disappointed there weren’t a lot of booths. They did have performances, the food selection was disappointing. We tried a Samoan plate lunch and everything was pretty bland! Sure, they give you a lot but still, just not seasoned ENOUGH. =(
We did try the chicken keleguen from the Guamanian food booth and that was tasty.
Next year, I’ll skip this.

Fast forward to September 21−22^nd of 2013 and it is their 6^th Annual Orange County Pacific Islander Festival. This is a beautiful setting right behind the Huntington Beach Central Library. There is a stage for all the performances, an all grass area just like a park setting and perfect for a festival. People have their lawn chair, baby tents to large tents, mats and blankets to lay out on the grass for the perfect seat under the shade or an area to get your tan on.
The performance included representation all the islands of Hawaii, Marshall Islands, Guam, and awesome acoustic guitar player and song writer Tini Grey was there too.
There were food booths representing the variety of Pacific Islander food. There is the Tongan, Samoan, Hawaiian, Marshallese, Guamanian food choices. Most of them offered combo plates and average $ 10 per plate.
I tried the food from Marshall Islands and got chicken thigh, salmon fish, kalbi with chunks of taro and squash with coconut milk with 2 scoops of rice. It was a little bit of everything and for $ 10, it’s a pretty good deal. The fish was a bit fishy, the kalbi was okay, but the chicken was made just right over the bbq grill.
My husband had the Tongan food plate that consisted of the corned beef wrapped in taro leaves, piece of chicken thigh, 3 pieces of mussels and then a chunk of sweet potato. That corned beef was to die for, bbq chicken was good and mussels were nicely cooked. Overall, the food and prices were reasonable for a festival. Water or soda was a just a buck or you there was also shave ice available for a couple of dollars.
This is a 2 day event full of fun from 10:00a.m.-5:00p.m. The people are nice, the crowd is laid back and the festivities were perfect for a beautiful weekend. Though it’s a smaller event, sounds like they are getting bigger each year.
Other vendors like Susan Koman cancer research, Starbucks, Edison, Public outreach, and various non-​profit organization reaching out to Pacific Islanders with substance abuse.
There were also tents to check out artifacts and sacred items from various islands of Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, Samona. Some things were for purchase and some just for browsing and learning about Pacific Islanders.

Came for the food… gannam goes island style

I loved the Pacific Islander Festival! The food was great, the music was great, the only thing I wish they had more of was authentic hawaiian booths with leis, carvings, more neat native things! I have you say though, the lau lau at the Tonga booth was one of the best I’ve ever had! The tonga drink is extremely refreshing and pairs well with the island foods they offer, definitely makes you crave for more the day after! All in all, this is an awesome festival that you have to experience, for the food and the culture!

This is an awesome festival! I’m surprised that out of the thousands of people there, no one has Unilocaled about it to spread the word. It’s this weekend only, but in case you miss it, there’s always next year.
Just went today for the first time with the family and I was impressed with the scope and scale of the event. Nonstop cultural performances on the stage (music, dance), awesome food booths, island handicrafts for sale, and so much more. The cultures of Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti (Polynesia), Aotearoa (New Zealand), Guam, Northern Marianas, Marshall Islands (Micronesia), and Fiji (Melanesia) are featured at this event. This gathering of cultures is not something you run across every day! Really, you must go check it out for yourself to truly grasp what a great (and free!) event this is.
No festival would be complete without food, and this one did not disappoint. I had the Tonga food plate and it was delicious. Granted, I am no expert on Tongan food since it was my first encounter with the cuisine, but it was really tasty. Maybe I’ll go back tomorrow to try some of the other foods. I would have gotten more today but if you know island foods – they’re not exactly light fare.
What: Third Annual Pacific Islander Festival
Where: In Central Park, just behind the Huntington Beach Public Library
When: Saturday, 9÷18÷10 and Sunday, 9÷19÷10 from 10am to 5pm
Cost: free admission and free parking!