Tag: Suva

By Prerna Priyanka Jordan Rooks returns to the Fiji Fringe Festival this year with a new show, an all-new family-friendly Aladdin parody magic show, 3 MAGIC WISHES. Rooks has been practicing magic since the age of 13, after a chance encounter with a magician at a restaurant. He has since found his passion for magic […]

By Samantha Magick On the Suva seawall at Nasese, a huge heart faces out to sea. The site of the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital, it is a symbol of the passion a family and the community they have built, have brought to caring for Pacific children with congenital heart defects. Established by the […]

From the moment the first artist in A Dance in 5 Installations slinks along the top of a wall and launches himself onto aerial silks, you are transported on a powerful journey. Choreographer Glenville Lord says the work represents the full circle of his experience, starting as a junior dancer at the Oceania Centre, working […]

By Prerna Priyanka In a ground-breaking initiative aiming for inclusivity in the arts, the Fiji run of MAMMA MIA! The Musical is gearing up for a special ‘accessible performance’ on February 10, 2024. Directed by Michael Payer, this rendition of MAMMA MIA! promises to dazzle audiences while serving as a platform for local talent. The […]

Rarotonga-based filmmaker and playwright, Glenda Tuaine’s short film, Taonga: An Artist Activist, will be screened for the first time in Fiji today at the third Pacific Human Rights Film Festival. The 15-minute short film is about Mike Tavioni, a renowned Cook Islands master carver, vaka builder, painter, poet and activist. Tuaine’s first encounter with Mike […]

Shakil Zoro Bhamji, better known as Zoro, was an entrepreneur at an early age, selling fruit  by the roadside in Ba  to pay for his school fees and supplies. “I used to see all the ladies from across the village sell their mangoes on the roadside. So during school holidays and weekends, I used to […]

The third Pacific Human Rights Film Festival starts tomorrow at the University of the South Pacific’s Japan ICT Performance Theatre in Suva with an important film about rugby in the Pacific.  The opening film is Oceans Apart, which will be screening in Fiji for the first time. Festival Director, Ben Wheeler, says this year’s festival […]

VegFest Fiji 2023 starts tonight, and at this year’s event you can learn how to make vinegar and kombucha, share brunch with your children, or go vegan at some of Suva’s most loved restaurants. This evening’s opening event, a dinner at Lami Novotel, is by invitation. But the rest of the program is open to […]

By Vittoria Pasca The plant-based dining scene has been steadily growing in Suva in the last few years, thanks to the opening of new vegetarian restaurants and eateries, and an increasing number of traditional restaurants adding tasty vegan-friendly dishes to their menu. Here are some options to check out. Health Veggie Restaurant  Equally popular among […]

By Elizabeth Kolivuso The Frank Hilton Organisation raised over FJ$17,000 in partnership with the Shivas Regal Project through a charity concert fundraiser that was held in Brisbane last month. This was the first ever fundraiser for the organisation to be held outside of Fiji. The Frank Hilton Organisation provides essential health and support services to […]

On the sidelines of Fiji’s biggest soccer tournament at HFC Bank Stadium, hundreds of people from a remote island in Fiji have gathered at the stadium’s car park to celebrate their cultural roots. Vanuabalavu (or long island) is part of the Lau group of islands, just east of Viti Levu. Vanuabalavu has 17 villages, all […]

By Elizabeth Kolivuso Fiji’s ‘Vude Queen’ will become the dancing queen as the star of iconic hit musical, Mamma Mia, when it is staged in Fiji next year. Laisa Vulakoro will star in Mamma Mia in February, which is being presented alongside the second Fiji Fringe Festival as part of Arts Season 2024.  The Fiji […]

By Elizabeth Kolivuso and Samantha Magick Suva painter Jane Ricketts’ Memories exhibition at the Oceania Art Centre is a window into Fiji’s history and history-makers, iTaukei and Indo-Fijian culture, cityscapes and intimate depictions of her family. Ricketts’ elegant use of watercolours, oil paints and paper collage bring her subjects, and their stories, to vivid life. […]

By Prerna Priyanka Self-taught artist, Jeke Viwalu Lagi’s new show Variant at the Gallery of Oceanian Art in Suva shows off his abstract expressionism in a new way, through the use of woodwork and paint. The exhibition at the University of the South Pacific’s Laucala campus, is a captivating display of Lagi’s distinct woodwork creations […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti It was a beautiful morning in the capital, a perfect day for a walk, and I’m heading off to one of Peter Sipeli’s guided walks of Suva. I thought I might be about to relive the tedium of my childhood history lessons, however, the two hours with Sipeli have made me question […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti The Makete Fashion Show promises to be a night filled with culture, art, and talent, showcasing the incredible local talent to be found in Suva. Creative coordinator and Assistant Director of the Pacifique Artisans Collective, Shakira Ah-Koy Mcdonald, is continuing the legacy of the women in her family by encouraging and promoting […]

In a glass room at Suva’s Grand Pacific Hotel, a frangipani tree wrought from glinting metal and glowing glass is growing from the ceiling this weekend. In another corner of this temporary exhibition space, a school of iridescent copper mahimahi swirls around blue glass waves and delicate clear glass fish, while birds constructed of bronze […]

A unique art exhibition will soon take place at the iconic Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva. It is called “Born From Fire: Return to the Flames” and will display work from Alice Hill, an accomplished professional glassblower from Hot Glass Fiji, and Shane Bower, one of Fiji’s most sought-after artists in both large and small-scale […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti Fiji is this week hosting the 10th International Lapita Conference, an event that brings together experts in the field of archaeology from the Pacific and beyond. The Lapita conference occurs every three to four years. This year it is being held at the University of the South Pacific and will end with […]

This year’s World Music Day celebrations in Fiji makes a grand return with a fantastic all-Fijian lineup. The event first began in France in 1982, and is now celebrated annually in over 100 countries including Fiji.  It gathers professional and amateur musicians, from mixed musical universes, languages and communities, to share their passion for music […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti What happens when a worthy charity, healthy competition, dress-ups, creativity, and a nostalgic childhood memory of simple ‘bara’ races meet? You are met with uncontained excitement from adults who want to give their all for a cause close to their hearts. ‘The Amazing Wheelbarrow Race’–- an event aimed at raising funds to […]

By Rowena Singh Hanging up his stethoscope and embracing music has transformed Suva doctor, Rayneil Singh into an award-winning performer. When the FIPRA (Fiji Performing Rights Association) awards were held for the first time in a couple of years (due to Covid) in October, his name rang out six times. Dr Singh, aka Ra V, […]

By Shazia Usman Picture this – two girls around 10 years old. Wearing two-sizes-too large psychedelic-coloured shorts their mums bought for them at some sale, catching the Number 21/22 bus on a bright Saturday morning in Samabula, Suva, Fiji. Their destination? The Suva City Library, of course.  They were great friends, these two, but stronger […]

By Alipate Pareti Despite the gloomy, cold, wet and rainy day, the Fijian Drua fans still turned up in numbers to support their team in the HFC Bank stadium in Suva. This was the last home game of the season, and a lot was riding on the result as the Drua had to beat the […]