Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Are you ready?  Alega Preservation Institute and Tisa’s Barefoot Bar are announcing two big events for October —  the Annual Ka Palolo Festival during the late midnight hours of October 26 and Tisa’s Annual Tattoo Festival on October 30 – 31.

This year marks the 16th year of the annual Tatau event in American Samoa with the gracious support of the local government and business community. Both events bring our community together to enjoy local Samoan traditional experiences that celebrate the Samoan culture and indigenous way of life in an organic and sustainable manner.

On site in beautiful Alega village, American Samoa, with COVID-19 access restrictions in place, the two-day Tattoo event will be streaming live to reduce the number of fest goers under the current Code Blue declaration facing our island. This will make the 16th Annual 2021 Tattoo Festival a global event, for Samoans all over the world to attend virtually online, connecting our people together in a cultural event unique to American Samoa – opening our borders virtually and reuniting friends, family, and tourists from abroad. “Last year more than 100,000 people attended our event virtually to celebrate the Pe’a and Malu,” says Tisa Faamuli, founder and organizer of the Annual Tattoo Festival.

 “This year we have been asked to help document more stories on our Malofie community and to assist families record and honor the integrity of their Pe’a and Malu with surveys and other means across American Samoa and around the world. We believe celebrating these sacred symbols of our strength, culture and way of life is more important this year than at any other time in our 16 year history of the Tattoo Festival as our living art becomes more meaningful when it is threatened by modern culture and COVID-19.”

From Saturday to Sunday (October 30 – 31), the two-day event will highlight original versions of the Tatau history through performing arts. Streamed live, with local guest panels broadcast live from Tisa’s Barefoot Bar in Alega, American Samoa, and with overseas online guests, the topics of traditional arts, from Tufuga carvers and Siapo makers to our bellowed Tattoo artists will be discussed and shared in an open forum for all to participate. Additionally, music groups, Ssngers, Samoan Siva groups, and of course – live tattooing, and virtual online contests and prizes for Samoans to participate in from all over the world will showcase the love of culture and the Tatau.

The public is invited to participate in Virtual Tatau activities, including the submission of TikTok videos in various Siva dance categories to win prizes from their video submissions, with people voting from all over the world on social media. Refer our FB page (@TisasTattooFestival) for more details and submission guidelines to participate and win.

The support of our longtime sponsors, private and businesses continue to make it possible for the Alega Preservation Institute (API) to help preserve and protect our natural resources, land and culture. We are also very proud to continue our partnership with the American Samoa Visitors Bureau to showcase the beauty of our island and our culture in bringing you our Tatau Festival from Tutuila Island during the pandemic.

Stay tuned for more information, and share Tisa’s Tattoo Festival Facebook page (@TisasTattooFestival) with your friends. Book your own watch party and share your Tatau memories with friends and families at our 16th Annual 2021 Tattoo Festival.

For more information, please contact tisafaamuli29@gmail.com

For reservations contact 731-7100.