Kahuku High School is the Overall Winner of the Samoan Arts Festival

May 15, 2005 - Laie, HI - High school and college students from throughout Oahu gathered Saturday at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) to show off their knowledge and skills of Samoa’s cultural traditions at the 2005 Samoa Arts Festival.

More than 400 students took part representing four high schools, including Farrington, Kahuku, Moanalua, and Waipahu, as well as Brigham Young University-Hawaii and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. This was Moanalua’s first year participating in the competition. Along with the World Fireknife Dance Competition, the Samoan Arts Festival is a premier event of the Samoa Festival, which concludes tonight.

It was a packed house in the PCC’s Pacific Theater with the audience cheering wildly throughout the competition. “The kids really worked hard this year,” said Ellen Gay Dela Rosa, senior manager for Hawaii sales and promotions at the PCC. “They were organized and showed great creativity in their costumes, dances, music and speeches.”

The high school students worked together as teams in exciting cultural competitions that tested their expertise at traditional Samoan skills like coconut husking, basket weaving, and banana peeling. They also demonstrated their Samoan oratorical talents, musicianship, and mastery of traditional dances. Kahuku High School was judged the overall winner based on its cumulative performance in all the competitions.

One of the festival’s highlights was an exhibition performance by the United Samoan Organization of Hawaii. Led by Tui Pule, a judge for the Samoan Arts Festival, the group showcased its dance skills and love of the Samoan culture. It also sponsored the first place prize of $300 for the Taupo (princess dance).

Other sponsors for the Samoa Arts Festival included Coca-Cola, Cirque du Soleil, Henry S. Mataalii and Company, Electric Pencil, Hawaiian Airlines, Galumalemana Lester W.B. Moore and Turtle Bay Resort.

Both the universities and high schools participated in the dance competition. Each university received a $1,000 honorarium. The high school awards included cash prizes and trophies for the various tasks and dances.

The competition rankings for the 2005 Samoa Arts Festival are:

OVERALL WINNERS
(Based on Total Number of Points Earned) 1. Kahuku High School 2. Farrington High School 3. Waipahu High School 4. Moanalua High School

CULTURAL GAMES
Basket Weaving
Men:
1. Farrington High School
2. Kahuku High School

Women:
No finishers.

Banana Peeling
Men:
1. Waipahu High School
2. Kahuku High School
3. Farrington High School

Women:
1. Kahuku High School
2. Farrington High School
3. Waipahu High School

Coconut Husking
Men:
1. Farrington High School
2. Kahuku High School
3. Waipahu High School

Women:
1. Farrington High School
2. Kahuku High School
3. Moanalua High School

Fire Making
Men:
1. Kahuku High School
2. Waipahu High School
3. Farrington High School

LAUGA (SPEECH)
1. Ropeta Gafa, Farrington High School
2. Ana Mariko, Waipahu High School
3. Nathan Saviinaea, Kahuku High School

DANCE
Faaluma (Comedian):
1. Kahuku High School

Mauluulu (Girls Dance):
1. Farrington High School
2. Waipahu High School
3. Kahuku High School

Sasa (Sit Down Dance):
1. Kahuku High School
2. Farrington High School
3. Waipahu High School

Taupo (Princess Dance):
1. Kahuku High School
2. Waipahu High School
3. Farrington High School

Founded in 1963 as a non-profit organization, the PCC has entertained more than 31 million visitors, while preserving and portraying the culture, arts, and crafts of Polynesia to the rest of the world. In addition, the PCC has provided financial assistance to 14,000 young people from over 70 different countries while they attend Brigham Young University-Hawaii. As a non-profit organization, 100 percent of PCC’s revenue is used for daily operations and to support education.

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