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Polynesian Holiday Bazaar set for Saturday, Dec. 16, at Green River College in Washington State

Angel Mulivai-Tobin, owner of Left Coast Promotions, left, and her brother Tevita “DJ Una” Hefa, who owns Misi Events, work together to promote the Polynesian culture through community events and festivals. [Heidi Sanders, the Mirror]

Federal Way resident Angel Mulivai-Tobin has made it her mission to share the Polynesian culture and help others regardless of their background.

The 2001 Thomas Jefferson High School graduate said the Polynesian culture – which includes American Samoa, Western Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Tahiti and Cook Islands – often gets a bad reputation with the people having anger problems.

“There are some bad apples,” said Mulivai-Tobin, who is of American Samoan descent. “There’s always going to be some, but what I grew up in, and the majority of us grew up in, the Polynesian culture is all about love, respect, sharing, togetherness, family. I wanted to bring that to share with the public. We are not all bad people. Actually the majority of us, we love, and we love hard. I think bringing that forth to the community shows that we’re not all in here for ourselves. It is not just you’re black, you’re white, you’re Polynesian.”

Through her business, Left Coast Promotions, Mulivai-Tobin has hosted a number of Polynesian events throughout Western Washington and is planning the second year of a Polynesian Holiday Bazaar from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at Green River College, 12401 SE 320th St. in Auburn.

“The first year was in Bremerton,” she said. “The reason we had it out there was we hosted the Kitsap Pacific Islander Festival out there as well. We did that in August, and everyone wanted something else out there.”

This year’s bazaar, which is free and open to the community, includes entertainment, vendors and pictures with Moana and Maui, characters from the Disney movie, “Moana.”

Lelumanai Ole Pasefika, the Pacific Islander club and dance team at Federal Way High School, will open the bazaar with a performance.

Mulivai-Tobin helps with the club throughout the year.

“It is pretty much teaching the kids of their culture – the respect aspect of it, all the teaching what we were brought up with,” she said.

Toys, donated by businesses, will be distributed to children in need in the community at the bazaar.

Read more at Federal Way Mirror