Melbourne Pasifika Festival & Charity Walk - Has Ended

Join us for our 2020 Melbourne Pasifika Festival and Charity Walk. Enjoy Pasifika culture through traditional food stalls, arts and crafts, children's activities, traditional dancers, live music and lots of fun!

Have a STALL or are you an ENTERTAINMENT group willing to participate on the day? Register your interest at www.melbournepasifikafestival.org

ALL funds raised during this event will be used for Humanitarian Projects in the Pacific Islands, which aim at empowering local women by providing them with opportunities to gain formal education and employment, and skills necessary to support their families financially (more info below).

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PRICES
*FESTIVAL: gold coin donation.

*WALK:
Student (show valid concession card): $30
Single: $40
Double: $75
Group of 4: $150
Group of 6: $215

CHILDREN UNDER 12 years old can enter the Walk and Festival for FREE

Click the link above ? to buy your ticket
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PROGRAM:

?‍♂️ WALK:
- 10am: Check in and registration
- 10:40am: Walk start

? Short: 1km, suitable for children. Duration: 30min
? Long: 5km, circuit around Footscray Park. Duration: 1h


? FESTIVAL:
? Pasifika Festival commencement: 12:30am
? Pasifika Cultural Welcome: 1pm
? Pasifika Cultural Performances: 1:40pm
? Conclusion: 3:30pm

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⚠️ PLEASE NOTE: ⚠️
• No alcohol allowed on park premises
• CHILDREN UNDER 12 years old can enter the Walk and Festival for FREE
• All abilities playground for children right next to the festival area
• WALK registration: we take card payments
• Toilets have disabled access and baby change facilities
• Dogs allowed on leash
• Optional: bring your own picnic blanket or chair

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GETTING THERE & PARKING:
• Footscray Park has limited parking, both paid & free. Parking closest to the festival grounds are NOT FREE.
• We encourage everyone to find alternative means of transportation.
• Footscray Train Station is only a 10min walk to the festival grounds.

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PROJECTS SUPPORTED:

PASIFIKA SCHOLARSHIP FUND
• This initiative provides young adults with the opportunity to access empowering educational programs at universities in their own country.
• From 2017-2019 we sponsored Jenny to become a primary school teacher. She has now graduated and is working at the SunHak Primary School in the Solomon Islands.
• In 2020, we are sponsoring: Janet (to become a kindergarten teacher) and Selina (to become a primary school teacher)

PASIFIKA MICRO-CREDIT
• Micro-credit loans are made of a small amount of money that are borrowed by trusted applicants. This start-up amount of money is used by the applicants to create a business and generate further income. Applicants make repayments to their loan, so the amount can be reused for other applicants.
• The Pasifika Microcredit initiative is officially being launched in Papua New Guinea this January 2020. Applicants will attend an introductory workshop to learn valuable skills for their business.
• With a total amount of $3000 available, 6 selected applicants will receive a micro-loan of $500. Stay tuned for more updates!

WOMEN'S SEWING CENTRES
• Located in the Pacific Islands, the centres provide women with an opportunity to gain skills and support their families economically. The sewing centre in the Solomon Islands is currently moving into a new location, which needs renovation.

REUSABLE MENSTRUAL PADS FOR PNG
This year we have partnered with Days for Girls (https://www.daysforgirls.org/) to deliver 200 reusable menstrual pads to Papua New Guinea.

Under conditions of limited fundings and especially in rural areas, many young women simply have no access to sanitary products and are forced to miss school to stay home during their period. As a result, they can miss up to one month of school every year. In fact, girls are overall more likely to be out of school compared to boys (https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245238).

With this delivery of reusable pads we are creating an opportunity for your women to stay in school and continue their education. This delivery includes educational sessions to inform young women about their period and break down stereotypes and stigma associated with them.

More info: https://www.wfwpaustralia.org/pacific-islands-projects

This event is being delivered in partnership with WFWP Australia, the United Pasifika Council of Victoria (UPCOV) and the Victorian Multicultural Commission.