Three-day celebration of Fiji begins at Sonoma County Fairgrounds

Sonoma County’s Fijian community is celebrating the island nation’s independence from Britain 45 years ago with a three-day festival. A ceremony and visit from one of the island’s top political leaders kicked off the festivities Friday at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

“We have people coming from (as far as) Seattle,” said Luke Qauqau, the master of ceremonies. He expects the Fiji Day festivities will draw about 1,000 people by the time it wraps up on Sunday with a church service.

The event today will feature traditional dances, music, food and craft vendors, and sports competitions, including rugby and netball. Admission is $5.

John Togamalo, 52, came up from Monterey for the event, hosted by the Veiyasana Community Foundation. He was excited to be in the presence of Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, the Tui Cakau, or paramount chief, of Cakaudrove, a province on the northern end of the island.

“It’s a privilege for everyone,” said the bare-chested Togamalo, who wore a grass-style skirt made of bark strips.

He and eight other men were part of the welcome ceremony, where they planned to serve the chief a ceremonial drink made from kava, a tropical plant known as a relaxant, in a coconut shell cup.

Togamalo left Fiji about a decade ago. He said the event is a way for Fijians to remember their homeland.

“We’re a ways from home, but we can bring Fiji here,” he said before the start of the ceremony.

Under a tent, more than three dozen people eagerly waited for the arrival of the chief Friday afternoon. About 20 others sat on some bleachers at the far end of the field.

The chief rolled up onto a field at the fairgrounds in a small silver SUV just after 3 p.m.

Woven mats previously had been laid out on the ground, leading all the way up to his seat under a small tent. Women in colorful and floral-print outfits, known as sulu jabas, sat along the mats as the chief walked by, shaking some of their hands.

Jane Bale, who came from San Jose for the event, said the women involved in the welcome ceremony come from the same province as the chief. They all quietly watched as the island’s flag was raised and a woman sang their national anthem.

Sonoma County is home to hundreds of Fijians, a majority of whom work as caregivers. Some within the local Fijian community believe the population could be higher than 1,000.

Bale, 30, was born in Fiji but left when she was 14 so that her father, now a senior pastor in the East Bay city of Newark, could attend school in the United States. Bale said the event not only celebrates the island’s independence from Britain, but also brings families together and teaches the children born in the U.S. about their roots.

“Fiji Day is about family,” she said. “It’s about culture and who we are.”

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.