‘To be myself’: Meridian holds Island Festival celebrating culture of Pacific Islanders

A steady drumbeat thumped in the background as Nampa resident Christopher Lafoai and his wife and kids took in the Idaho Island Festival at Kleiner Park in Meridian.

Lafoai grew up in Samoa and lived in Hawaii before moving to Idaho in 2019.

“I just want to get that feeling again of being surrounded by a bunch of Polynesians.” Lafoai said, standing near the entrance with his family. “Just to be myself.”

Polynesia is a cultural region in the Pacific Ocean, encompassing islands and countries such as Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, New Zealand (known as Aotearoa) and Easter Island (known as Rapa Nui.)

Pacific Islanders have history and cultural influence in the Gem State. Perhaps the most famous example, as the festival’s emcee told the crowd, is the Owyhee Mountains. Owyhee and Hawaii are the same word, just spelled differently, according to the Idaho State Historical Society.

“There’s a little connection there between Hawaii and the state of Idaho,” the emcee told the audience around the amphitheater, in between traditional dance performances.

Just prior, three women walked out onto the stage, clad in white dresses with intricate leaf necklaces, crowns and bracelets. The drumming began, becoming louder and faster before settling into a gentle rhythm. The dancers swayed, lifting their arms to the sky. The women spun, their skirts twirling.

They were followed by a group of women with yellow leis, flowers in their hair and green floral skirts. Their feet stepped back and forth, forward and back while they mouthed along with the song playing from the speakers.

Over on the grass, a group of children were involved in a Maori stick game, clinking fashioned wooden sticks together. The kids wore black designs on their faces to imitate moko, traditional facial tattoos that indicate authority, status and honor.

Janelle Broncheau, who was there representing her Maori heritage, has family ties to New Zealand (Aotearoa). Her mom is from there, and her goal is to pass down what she knows.

“We’re trying to teach our kids,” Broncheau said. “We don’t get a lot of opportunities to teach because we’re not by many Polynesian people.”

Ben Harriet, a festival committee member from Hawaii, echoed that sentiment.

“Even though we can take our children back once or twice a year, they still are taken out of the environment,” Harriet said. “Hopefully, putting this together, will bring them closer. They get to experience not only Hawaiian culture but other Pacific Islander cultures. It’s all about family for us.”

The event wasn’t all dance and performances, though. Bustling crowds lined the pathways to get to vendors selling shirts and leis. Long lines stretched out behind tents and food trucks selling butter mochi, takoyaki, malasadas (a donut-like treat) and furikake chex mix.

One man approached a worker at a food stand, only to find they were sold out.

“Ahh, I wanted lumpia,” he said. Lumpia is a Filipino dish.

Jennifer Ah You, an organizer, said that the group had started a nonprofit overseeing the festival called Idaho Pacific Islanders. At the festival, the nonprofit was collecting information to help bring Polynesian business owners together.

“This (festival) kind of gives us that opportunity to gather everybody, perpetuate the cultures and teach the kids and community members,” said Ah You, who wants the festival to be an annual event. “So much of that (inner strength) is your culture, your heritage.”