The Alo Paopao Regatta Festival, kicking off tomorrow, is more than just an event. It’s about boosting the country’s economy, drawing tourists to get a taste of what Samoa has to offer to the world
But that’s not all. It is also about reviving our culture and traditions, some of which have been forgotten.
That’s why a group of dedicated and committed people have come together under a banner to establish the Alo Paopao Regatta festival.
The one-week event is a fun and vibrant celebration of Samoan culture coupled with days of fun in the sun, music and arts, paying homage to Samoan people and their customs.
Director of the Alo Paopao Festival, Jay Ah Fook, said the Association is trying to recapture what they did back in 1994 for the World Sprints, held in Samoa.
“We want to get back to that level where we can bring over 1,000 people who will pay for their accommodations, fares and food benefitting the community as a whole,” he said.
“On top of that, we get a boost as far as the standards of padding in Samoa is concern.”
Another unique feature of the event is the carving of the paopao canoes.
“We are trying to revive our tradition of carving paopao canoes,” he said. “It is something that is almost gone from our traditions.
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“So we are building canoes this year. We are actually going to have boat builders build boats during the week.”
Mr. Ah Fook said about 10 paopao will be carved throughout the week.
“There is a ritual done before cutting the trees down and another before we start to carve,” he said. “This is something that many in Samoa don’t know about.
“So it’s a taste of how things were done in the past. That’s what we want to offer.”
As for the competition, the teams from Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific islands have started to arrive. Some of them have asked for traditional blessings of their gear before they get into the water.
“So even though the canoes are modern, the culture dates back to the time of our ancestors.”
Mr. Ah Fook said part of his research into finding out more about the ritual of building paopao led him to the Head of State, his Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi who gave him some pointers.
This year’s festival has attracted 15 international teams from Australia, New Zealand and Tonga.
Registrations for the Festival kicks off today with the official opening tomorrow.
WHAT IS ALO PAOPAO
The Alo Paopao Regatta Festival is an all inclusive celebration of Samoan Culture, Outrigging, Music and Arts.
This Festival pays homage to our People and our Customs in a big way, by immersing our participants in celebrations of competitive outrigging, we bring light to the humble beginnings of the alo paopao.
We are focused on growing this sport here in Samoa, so take part in the Alo Paopao, and your participation will lend itself to our campaign of improving the quality and popularity of competitive outrigger canoe in Samoa.
As well as cementing Samoa as a paddling destination. The future potential of competitive outrigging in Samoa is boundless, due to our climate and coastal environments creating the ideal arena. Our waterscape provides us with all manner of ocean conditions, a fact, we local paddlers are well aware of. It’s about time we share this gem!
There are 15 international teams competing this year. From Australia, New Zealand and Tonga. One of those teams is the Vaka Manu, who were the 2013 Sprint World Champions.
This is a total of 110 competitive paddlers, plus their family members and supporters.
There will be a range of ages participating, from as young as U16 Junior Manukau OCC, right up to our Senior Master Women’s, Currumbin Alley Catfish.
We are also hosting the band Three Houses Down, who are very popular, with a 80,000 strong fan club, plus entertainment every night for our guests, such as the Mahealanis Beach Wear Fashion Show, Lalomanu Beach Party, Alo Paopao
Pubcrawl and the Finale Concert featuring Three Houses Down.
We are a growing festival centered around our international regatta, we have grown exponentially from last year, and see ourselves becoming a “must do” paddling event in the Pacific.
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