Choir group formed during a hurricane

Every choir group has its own unique story to tell. And one that has an interesting tale is the Vunimono Choir from Nausori. The gospel singing group was formed during Hurricane Bebe in 1972. In the midst of Bebe, one of the biggest storms at the time, the people of Vunimono Village were told to...

Paula’s wired for sound

When one hears of the Uprising Music Festival, they think of the drinks, the crowd and the great music that comes with it. The masses are often lost to the hard work that goes in to making the annual event as explosive as it is. The good news is nothing has changed when it comes...

Tough love Samson’s strength

Entrepreneurship came easy because as a child Samson Lee learned that every part of the business process costs something. Growing up in Nadi, Samson was the youngest of four children and was always trying new things and pushing boundaries and while his parents were very supportive, they charged him for everything the leading fashion designer...

Designer shifts base

Bondi Beach in Sydney is one of Australia’s most iconic beaches, popular with surfers, holidaymakers and health conscious people who go to enjoy the dramatic scenery. Nadi-based Tracey Farrington brings that vibe alive in the resort wear she has produced for over 25 years that the fashionable holidaymakers can pick up at some of Australia’s...

Village finds its lost voice for sigidigi

The world has witnessed indigenous music from almost every corner of the globe. Latin America gave us the samba, bossa nova, cha-cha-cha and rhumba and Africa gave the world Afrobeat and township jive among so many others. The Caribbean spellbound us with calypso music and the steel drums and Jamaica unleashed the powerful one-drop sound...

Stage set for music fest

Get ready for some new music Fiji, says Inoke “Knox” Kalounisiga. The frontman of the Knox Brotherhood band made the comment in the buildup to the Woodstock Uprising Music Festival at the Uprising Beach Resort, Pacific Harbour, on Saturday, December 5. “My band is glad for the opportunity to do what we love and to...

Oceans Gala fashion event a success

Acknowledging the United Nations Decade of Oceans, the Oceans Gala Fiji Fashion Week which took place over the weekend was a success. In her address, FFW’s managing director Ellen Whippy-Knight said the show acknowledged the ocean as a life force for Fiji and other Pacific Island countries. “The ocean is what connects us to the...

Aisea’s gypsy dreams

Glamour stirred his fashion interest but it’s really the challenge and difficulty of getting a collection from vision to the runway that drives Aisea Konrote. Trading under the Hefrani label, this is a designer whose garments have been on all the major runways of the Fijian fashion industry. While he has shone on other out-of-Suva...

Bridal dreams to cherish

Many young women grow up dreaming of looking beautiful and feeling special on their wedding day. It’s a fairytale that Cherish Prasad has listened to women tell him enough times to inspire his newest collection. The collection the Savusavu designer plans to showcase at the Fiji Fashion Week (FJFW) Oceans Gala Show that will take...

Breakup song becomes a hit – Daugunu wins back girlfriend through song

In the mid ’70s, Esekaia Daugunu composed a song when his then girlfriend Adi Salote Savu broke up with him over a relatively small misunderstanding. He wrote the lyrics on a piece of paper and sent it via mail to her, saying it was his poem to her. When the song Ena yabaki 1974, ko...

Local vocal diva is back

Georgina Ledua says she is both excited and nervous about performing at the Woodstock Uprising Music Festival 2020 on December 5 at Pacific Harbour. The last time she graced the festival stage was three years ago under the banner of the band, Kulture. “It’s different when I will be the one fronting the band this...

Alternative rock band Glass Alley raring to go with ‘different’ tunes

If there is one band that is going to stand out at the Woodstock Uprising Music Festival 2020, it has got to be Glass Alley. The motley crew emerged on the local music scene in 1997 and Glass Alley’s claim to fame is being Fiji’s first alternative rock band. Frontman and lead vocalist Albert Eastgate,...

Tribute to beauty queens

Paying a tribute to former Hibiscus Queens appeared as an obvious component of the evolution of Fiji Fashion Show. The organising committee started looking for them with the idea to have at least one beauty queen per decade. Because of a hectic world situation, many won’t be able to attend the show on November 7...

A song composed onboard a navy ship

Six years ago, British Royal Navy engineer Lokitai Nainoca wrote his first single Momosi Ni Yaloqu. The ode to long-distance love was composed while he was deployed onboard the HMS Kent in the Persian Gulf – between the Arabian Peninsula and South-Western Iran. Launched in the United Kingdom in 2014, the tune found its way...

Celebrating resilience through fashion

The Haus of Koila launched its inaugural Sustainable Fashion in Suva yesterday celebrating resilience and sustainability through fashion and culture. HOK director and established Fijian fashion designer Adi Koila Ganilau said the event was a culmination of resilience, adapting fashion to the new normal and embracing changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Coronavirus has...

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