Serving Pacific Islanders Throughout Northern California

 

Pacific Islanders' Cultural Association (PICA) established in 1995 to encourage and perpetuate the cultures of the Pacific Islanders in Northern California; specifically in those areas that are in the boundaries of Marin, Sacramento, Fresno, and Monterey Counties and the Pacific Ocean.

 

PICA is comprised of interested volunteers whose mission is to develop and perpetuate through education the histories, cultures and traditions of all Pacific islanders. Your support, whether by participating in or volunteering your time at our festival  is greatly appreciated and will assist PICA in achieving its goals.

 

A new video, created for us by the Hawai'i Chamber of Commerce, Northern California (HCCNC) provides an overview of who we are, and why we do what we do.

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Due to major renovations at the Presidio of San Francisco, PICA was forced to relocate and what was once known as the San Francisco Aloha Festival is now the Bay Area Aloha Festival, located in San Mateo California.  Visit PICA's Aloha Festival 2019 page to learn more about this year's festivities!

 

Over the years, PICA has offered grants or scholarships to deserving organizations and individuals that perpetuate the cultures that PICA represents.  Visit PICA's Grants & Awards page to learn more!

 

• PICA "Pacific Islander's Cultural Association"
  ...is governed by a Board of Directors who are representative of communities throughout several Northern California counties.  Board members serve for 2 years and are eligible for renomination at the end of their terms.

 

• Our mission
  ...is to develop and perpetuate through education, the histories, cultures, traditional and contemporary folk arts of the Pacific Islanders.

 

• We are the children of the Pacific Islands
  ...by blood line, by birth, marriage, cultural heritage, choice, or simply by association -- but most certainly by the conviction in our hearts, minds and spirit.  We are from Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia -- Fiji, Guam, Hawai`i, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, American and Western Samoa, and Tonga.  We are all equally as proud of our shared Pacific roots as we are of the rich heritage that makes each one of our cultures so unique and gives us that special identity.

 

• We love to share
  ...and keep alive our traditions in music and dance, language, boatmanship, delicious foods, domestic crafts, and all the aspects of our rich cultures...the incidents of our recorded history, the colorful and ancient stories and the teachings of our elders.

 

• With your help
  ...we will maintain our cultural identity by continuing together to keep alive and strong the nurturing bonds of our heritage for our children.

 

• It's true!  
  Most Pacific islands are precious sun-drenched emeralds in the boundless expanse of the ocean, where life can be paradise on earth. The timeless beauty of our islands alone, however, do not make it so. What makes the crowning difference are the ways and the spirit of the people, our people, to whom these islands will always be home.

 

• To live and work here
  ...many of our family members have come to the US mainland, and especially here to Northern California, for several generations now. While also contributing to it, we have become a part of the fabric of the west coast way of life. We feel the danger of being absorbed, of losing the roots and continuity of our original cultural identity.  
  
  So that we may contribute some of the spirit of paradise to the lifestyle of our new homeland -- and we certainly desire to do that -- we want to support and promote ways that will provide us with the opportunity to learn, to refresh and continue to grow in our cultural heritage.

 

• Together
  ...let us enrich each others' lives through understanding and enjoying the traditional ways of our homelands.