‘Friendly Islands’ Fun

On first visiting the region of volcanic atolls and barrier reefs known as Tonga in 1773, English navigator and explorer Capt. James Cook called them the Friendly Islands.

It is that millennia-old, friendly spirit--one that inspired the Polynesian kingdom’s traditions of dance and art--that will be celebrated Saturday afternoon at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena.

“The Friendly Islands Dancers,” a group of young Tongan-Americans who live in the Los Angeles area, will perform a program aimed at families and children. There will also be displays of art and artifacts from Tonga, the last place in the Pacific where a king reigns.

Five hundred miles southeast of Fiji, the archipelago of 169 islands with a population of about 105,000 has no traffic lights, no televisions and, essentially, no serious crime.

Tonga has managed to escape invasion, conquest and colonization. It is a land virtually unchanged by time.

One of the Tongan artistic traditions is the art of using mulberry bark to make cloth, known as tapa, which is used in weaving. On Saturday that craft will be demonstrated and museum visitors will have a chance to participate.

The program is part of the “Family Free Day” program, which takes place on the third Saturday of each month, when the museum charges no admission. The afternoon’s events run from 1 to 4 p.m. There will be dance performances at 2 and 3 p.m. The museum is at 46 N. Los Robles, just north of Colorado Boulevard. For information, call (818) 449-2742.