Pacific families parade strong message against violence

Nov 27th, 2008 | By Newswire Team | Category: Featured Article, News

WHEN the fourth annual festival for Strong Pacific Families took place with a parade of floats from Waitangirua Mall to the Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua city, MARANIA PEPE was there with her camera and notepad:

THEY began arriving in car-loads and on foot – all  heading for Waitangirua Mall eager and ready once again to take part in the biggest-ever Strong Pacific Families’ Festival.

The message on all the floats was clear – stop child abuse, violence against women and violence in homes. Most wore traditional costumes of pareu’s, lavalava’s, island-shirts, flower and flax jewellery.

It took three hours to travel from the mall to the new Te Rauparaha arena in Porirua township.

The floats of the nine Pacific nations represented Samoa, Tokelau, Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Niue, Tuvalu, St George and the Cook Islands.
 
Cook Islands had four floats representing the islands of Atiu (pictured below), Aitutaki, Manihiki and Rakahanga.
  

Those on the back waved banners, musicans played and young dancers entertained the crowds.

The Cook Island floats on the back of pick-ups and freight trucks had live bands and singers playing traditional instruments like ukelele, three kinds of drums,and guitars.