Jackrabbits Celebrate Polynesian Culture

Several Poly students attended the Fire Knife Polynesian Festival in Long Beach on Sept. 6 and 7.

Audience members of all ages and races came to celebrate the diverse culture of Polynesia.

“There weren’t just Polynesians; it was a very diverse crowd,” said Matilda Deadline.

Musicians and dancers performed into the night on a stage decked in hanging string lights and palm trees, while event staff passed out Hawaiian leis to the crowd.

Many forms of Polynesian dance from Tahiti, Fiji, and Tonga graced the stage, but the main performers of the event were the Samoan Fire Knife competitors.

Fire Knife is one of Samoa’s traditional ceremonial dances. The dancers perform with a machete on a wooden handle that is lit on fire at both ends, a tradition that requires skill and focus.

While the competition got heated (literally), so did the food vendors. They sold a variety of cultural cuisine, from chocolate chip cookies and egg rolls to pineapple burgers and spam musubi.

Traditional Samoan food was also sold in plates of chop suey, chicken, rice, and taro.

The annual Fire Knife Polynesian Festival was a big hit with Poly’s students and its community. Poly’s Pacific Islander club will be selling plates of Samoan food at their booth.