Inangaro Paradise Dance Group will be among the performers at the event. Photo: Supplied.
Pasifika Island dance, rhythms and cuisine will take centre stage in Wollongong next month as Illawarra women from all backgrounds gather to celebrate culture while forming new friendships at the fourth annual Illawarra Women’s Day of Dance and Culture.
African refugee and community leader Rosemary Kariuki first launched the movement in Sydney to bring migrant and refugee women together.
Four years ago, Healthy Cities Australia ambassador Margaret Biggs introduced it to the Illawarra, creating a safe women-only space to build friendships, share stories and connect with services.
Margaret said the event started in a small hall at Edmund Rice College, but had outgrown its venues twice and was now based at the Wollongong Town Hall for the second consecutive year.
She said this year would celebrate the theme “Take Me To The Islands”, bringing with it the bold spirit and rich traditions of the Pasifika Islands, led by Pasifika delegate and Empress Eventz director Marion Taeo.
“Food and dance is a universal language that connects us across cultures, ages and experiences,” Margaret said.
“This day is all about bringing people together through movement, joy and shared stories.
“It’s also a powerful reminder of how inclusive, connected communities contribute to better health and wellbeing for everyone.”
She said past attendees ranged from babies in prams to a 92-year-old woman who arrived with her walker.
Previous performances had been as diverse as Vietnamese nuns from Warrawong performing a prayerful dance to Irish dancers with intricate footwork, creating a truly multicultural celebration.
“Everyone gets up and dances,” Margaret said.
“We have two or three sections, with one of the sections by our beautiful Rosemary Kariuki, who comes down with a bunch of African ladies from Sydney and we do an African stomp.
“It’s just completely different to anything else we do in Wollongong.
“We do it in school hours so it enables ladies to come and enjoy something and then get away by 2:30 so they can be wherever they need to be to pick up kids.”
Information stalls from 12 service providers, such as Multicultural Communities Council of the Illawarra (MCCI), Women’s Health Centre, Wollongong City Council, WEA Illawarra, Supported Accommodation and Homelessness Services Shoalhaven (SAHSSI) and Breastscreen NSW, will provide valuable resources for attendees.
Margaret said female officers from NSW Police would attend in uniform to help bridge cultural gaps, which was particularly important for women like Rosemary, who initially feared anyone in uniform due to her experiences in Africa.
Rosemary is now multicultural liaison officer with the police in Western Sydney.
Margaret said the Sydney event was originally launched to address the lack of connectedness Rosemary found among migrant and refugee women in Sydney, with the outcomes of that goal evident now in the Illawarra event.
“In our second year, we had a lady from Africa. She’d only been here about two months and she knew nobody,” she said.
“By the end of the event, she’d made a whole bunch of new friends.
“She now comes to the event, and she’s buzzing.”
Margaret said her passion for the cause stemmed from her own family’s migration story – her mother and grandmother coming to Australia as refugees in 1950 after their home was bombed during World War II.
“They were 10-pound poms, but they were really refugees in terms of there was rationing, there was nowhere to live, they were moving from relative to relative, trying to keep a roof over their heads,” she said.
She said the event was part of Healthy Cities Australia’s mission to support healthier, more resilient communities and assisted in the organisation receiving an award at International Women’s Day this year.
Tickets are $30 plus booking fee, and include a three-course meal featuring Pasifika-inspired cuisine, with fruit from M2 Kitchen. It is alcohol-free to ensure accessibility for all women. Children under six are welcome if registered when booking.
Illawarra Women’s Day of Dance and Culture will be held on Friday, 5 September, from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm at Wollongong Town Hall.
