Nine To Noon Siva Afi organisers fear fire dance festival could be extinguished
Mar 4, 2026
Amo Yiriko, founder and organiser of the Siva Afi Festival and champion of Samoan fire and knife dancing, explains how the event began in 2019 and grew through community workshops. He discusses international competitors, tight funding and last-minute support. He also covers safety-focused training, scheduling around Pasifika, and the festival’s role in youth opportunities and careers.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Grassroots Workshops Became An International Festival
- Amo Yiriko started Siva Afi from community workshops in Māngere and staged a year-end showcase that grew into a festival.
- The first event had 12 competitors, a $10,000 budget from Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board, and expanded with Creative New Zealand Pacific Wave support.
Growing Demand Clashes With Shrinking Funding
- Limited funding constrains international participation and forces organisers to cut 'luxuries' even as demand grows.
- This year judges and competitors still came from Tahiti, Samoa and Orlando thanks to small donations and supplier discounts, but capacity is fragile.
Core Funding Enables Multi-Year Planning
- Losing multi-year core funding prevents planning and forces last-minute scrambles.
- With past Creative New Zealand Pacific Wave funding they could plan two years ahead; without it they must apply annually to crowded pools and face uncertainty.