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The Springfield Public Library kicked off its summer reading program Wednesday morning with a Tahitian dance presentation, with dancers inviting kids to learn the movements themselves. The event was the first in a nine-week series of multicultural events in the library's fountain plaza.
“Across all of the Pacific nations, each and every one of our cultures, we all dance. Can you tell me why?”
That was a question posed by Charlie Okada, studio manager for Tahitian dance group Anavai O Te Ora, to a group of kids and their families gathered Wednesday, June 17, outside the Springfield Public Library.
“We all dance to tell our stories,” Okada said. “Not just our stories, our history. To pass down our knowledge, to pass down our traditions and to pass down our values.”
The dance group from Vancouver, Washington, showcased cultural dance styles of Tahiti, an island in the South Pacific, before inviting kids to join in a demonstration to learn the movements.
Okada told the kids their hands help tell the story, inviting them to spread their arms like bird wings and wave like the ocean after teaching them how to move their hips in a circular motion.
Anavai O Te Ora translates to “The River of Life,” Okada said.
“For us, that means taking the knowledge that was given to us from our elders, our tupuna, and passing that knowledge forward to the next generation, ensuring that the knowledge and our culture lives on into the future and continues to thrive.”
Okada founded the group in 2011 with her sister.
“Our family came over here to the Pacific Northwest from the beautiful islands of Hawaii, and when we came out here, there wasn’t a whole lot of representation for the South Pacific, specifically for Tahiti,” she said.
The library’s summer reading kick-off celebration was the first in a nine-week series of free multicultural programs on the fountain plaza. The events are every Wednesday, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m, through August 12.
The multicultural series is part of the library’s summer reading program, which provides reading challenges and events for all ages.
“The plaza programs that we have all Wednesdays long over the summer are connected to that initial celebration of ‘welcome to summer reading’ and encouraging all the fun literacy events over the summer that the library provides,” Carrie Schindele-Cupples, library manager, said. “As a program, the plaza really does celebrate all kinds of cultures, and it’s an opportunity for the community to enjoy together learning about artistry and cultures.”
She said literacy can develop in a variety of creative ways, including talking, singing, reading, writing and playing.
Springfield Utility Board sponsored Wednesday’s event with tents for visitors to sit under and a hydration station. Other partners included the NAACP, Honoring Our New Ethnic Youth, known as H.O.N.E.Y., the Oregon Multigenerational Community Center and the Asian Foundation of Oregon.
Ayanna Moriguchi, who is involved with H.O.N.E.Y., attended Wednesday’s event.
“I just think it’s great to offer these cultural enrichment activities,” Moriguchi told Lookout Eugene-Springfield. “And seeing the kids out here enjoying it and dancing and learning, it’s just fun.”
Josie Einsel brought her two-year-old son, Shiloh, to the plaza.
“I love to see the community coming together,” the 33-year-old Springfield resident said. “And maybe seeing different kinds of dance that we wouldn’t be exposed to regularly, and I feel like they do a good job bringing in all different walks of life into this space, and doing it in a really welcoming, friendly, fun way.”
Next week Springfield’s Veselka Ukrainian dancers will celebrate Ukrainian culture and traditions with music and dance. Other programs include a concert by Zimbabwean-born singer-songwriter Ratie D and her band, a performance by San Francisco-based Urban Jazz Dance Company, which interweaves American Sign Language and innovative dance, and an Indigenous Cultural Celebration.
Starting next week, Food for Lane County will offer free lunch for youth ages 18 and younger, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the plaza.
If you go:
What: Multicultural summer reading series
When: 10:30 a.m., every Wednesday, June 17 – August 12
Where: Fountain Plaza at the Springfield Public Library, 225 Fifth Street
Cost: Free. No registration required
