Samoan communities gathered at Peninsula Park in North Portland on Saturday for the third annual Portland/Vancouver Samoan Festival. This event is sponsored by the Samoa Pacific Development Corporation, also known as SPDC, a nonprofit whose goal is to support local Samoans through education, housing, healthcare and youth empowerment programs.

The festivities included music, dance performances, and vendors selling foods like huli-huli chicken, lumpia, and pagikeke, also known as Samoan pancakes.

According to SPDC Project Coordinator Motutama Sipelii, the purpose of the festival is to increase visibility for Samoan communities in the region and provide a space for Samoans and other Pacific Islander communities to participate in cultural practices and build bridges. “Some of these families have been living in Oregon or Portland for years,” Sipelii says, “and never experienced any cultural opportunities like this.”

New to the festival this year is the Tausala Manaia dance group, a SPDC-sponsored program for youth ages 5-13. The program started at the urging of several parents, who wanted a place for their children to learn cultural dances and practice Samoan language together.

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as the group took the stage. “We were all hoping for this,” says parent Gaoioi Poumele, whose three children, ages 11, 7, and 5, all performed. “I hope it continues, and they add more activities for kids to learn their culture.”