So it was off to the Polynesian Cultural Center.....have to admit I was a little sceptical to begin with, I had heard lots about it but it seemed a little stagy (sorry but that's what I first thought.....) and it was sooooo crowded. Because of our package (thanks to Carole again!!) we were given a tour guide, which definitely helped this first time. Our guide's name was Serey, he was a Cambodian student studying information systems at BYU on scholarship. He didn't seem very experienced but he was bright, funny, very helpful, friendly and kept us going where we needed to go.......
There are 7 Islands that they include, Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fiji, Hawaii, Marquesas, Tahiti and Tonga. They have dances, songs, shows, rituals and all kinds of activities that they share at these different Island representations. We weren't able to get to them all but we did see a few that were pretty fun! Serey also gave us some coconut bread and some mountain apples and had a bag of ponchos for us.
The luau was stupendous........they fed about 600 people in about an hour......this huge room with tables all set, they had 4 buffets set up at the top and entertainment at the bottom. We enjoyed the food, Don especially loved the fish and I did too.....they had poi, raw fish and marinated beef. They had tarot buns which were purple, luckily they also had a kid's menu with dinosaur chicken, potato wedges, jello, hot dogs, etc. Everyone was sure stuffed.........I teased Carole, figured this was probably the first time Luke was full all week (he admitted he probably finished off a whole fish himself), she should have just dropped him off at buffets at least once a day!
My two darling men!
The Tropical Canoe Tour......great job dancing on a little surface!
It was the craziest day for weather, it started raining and then stopped, we then sweltered while watching the tropical canoe tour and shivered in the IMAX watching the Coral Reef show, then out in the rain again walking around. Definitely a day of contrasts........
Melodie and Vanessa posing with the Tongan drummer!
The girls with tattoos! At least they didn't put them on their face, like some!
There were so many fun shows...... we loved the Samoan fellow, he kept us laughing so much, a supreme performer, showed us how to start fire with a stick, husked a coconut, opened it with a small rock and then milked it and all with great wit and humour. He had a fellow climb a tree.....and then asked if we wanted him to jump to another tree! I couldn't believe it.......these palm trees were waaaay apart, so while the leader kept chanting, Are you ready over and over, the guy in the tree finally called back "Are YOU crazy!!!"...which had us all laughing, he came down quick!
Below was the first tent we went to, New Zealand.....total art of throwing sticks!!
There are 7 Islands that they include, Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fiji, Hawaii, Marquesas, Tahiti and Tonga. They have dances, songs, shows, rituals and all kinds of activities that they share at these different Island representations. We weren't able to get to them all but we did see a few that were pretty fun! Serey also gave us some coconut bread and some mountain apples and had a bag of ponchos for us.
The luau was stupendous........they fed about 600 people in about an hour......this huge room with tables all set, they had 4 buffets set up at the top and entertainment at the bottom. We enjoyed the food, Don especially loved the fish and I did too.....they had poi, raw fish and marinated beef. They had tarot buns which were purple, luckily they also had a kid's menu with dinosaur chicken, potato wedges, jello, hot dogs, etc. Everyone was sure stuffed.........I teased Carole, figured this was probably the first time Luke was full all week (he admitted he probably finished off a whole fish himself), she should have just dropped him off at buffets at least once a day!
My two darling men!
The Tropical Canoe Tour......great job dancing on a little surface!
It was the craziest day for weather, it started raining and then stopped, we then sweltered while watching the tropical canoe tour and shivered in the IMAX watching the Coral Reef show, then out in the rain again walking around. Definitely a day of contrasts........
Melodie and Vanessa posing with the Tongan drummer!
The girls with tattoos! At least they didn't put them on their face, like some!
There were so many fun shows...... we loved the Samoan fellow, he kept us laughing so much, a supreme performer, showed us how to start fire with a stick, husked a coconut, opened it with a small rock and then milked it and all with great wit and humour. He had a fellow climb a tree.....and then asked if we wanted him to jump to another tree! I couldn't believe it.......these palm trees were waaaay apart, so while the leader kept chanting, Are you ready over and over, the guy in the tree finally called back "Are YOU crazy!!!"...which had us all laughing, he came down quick!
Below was the first tent we went to, New Zealand.....total art of throwing sticks!!
The fire dancing competition was stupendous and worth every penny!! I was ready to go home, tired and tired of huge crowds, we had to wait for about 15 min. to get in and it was soooooo crowded.........I would have gladly headed home..........but oh thank goodness I didn't. The show was so colourful, funny, bright and completely entertaining and that was before the fire dance competition. The three fire dancers were amazing and so skilled, just loved it. We certainly had the BEST seats in the house thanks to Carole........ in the middle fourth row back so we were right up close! The other fun part of the day was because of our tickets we could get these ice cream bowls throughout the performances. 
This was Vanessa and Melodie's "attempt" at doing a New Zealand war dance, called "the Haika". It's supposed to make their enemies fear them... however I don't think Melodie and Vanessa are quite at that stage yet.. lol...
So a WONDERFUL, STUPENDOUS FUN day........never to be forgotten. Sooooo Happy to have all our kids with us!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment