BACKGROUND.
The Pop-Up Pasifika initiative was established by coincidence on March 2019 when the Pasifika Festival was cancelled 3 days before the event. The sudden cancellation of the festival left many merchants stranded and overstocked with products intended for the 2 day event.
It was a spur of the moment idea and decision to set it up (2 days of preparation and promos) which caught the attention of our Pacific community and the word spread like wild fire and it organically gained phenomenal momentum in such a short period of time. It caught our vendors by surprise with the turn up! We can honestly say, you can always rely on the power and influence of the Pacific coconut wireless! Cheehoo! [Read new story: LOST PASIFIKA REVENUE SALVAGED AT POP-UP MARKETPLACE]
The initiative didn't stop there. The demand and the popularity of the Pop-Up gave us an opportunity to host 3 more Pop-Up events in 2019.
As if it was deja vu all over again, the arrival and concerns of COVID-19 saw the 2020 Pasifika Festival cancelled. This time the cancellation was announced less than 24 hours before the event. That just devastated so many Pacific vendors especially given the timeframe of the notice as well as being caught up in Pasifika Festival cancellations 2 years in a row.
After weighing up the risks, we accepted the challenge to host Pop-Up Pasifika yet again! And again, the coconut wireless didn't fail us and our Pacific community turned up.
Basically the name says it all, it was literally popping up a market to accomodate Pasifika vendors.
COVID-19 National Lockdown.
With the arrival of the COVID-19 Pandemic, all of New Zealand and the world over went into locked which meant businesses had to stop trading and to close down.
To help support and alleviate some of the challenges and impacts of the lockdowns, we took the concept of Pop-Up Pasifika and made it available virtually on Facebook with the creation of Pop-Up Pasifika Online group - www.facebook.com/groups/PopUpPasifika/
To help support and alleviate some of the challenges and impacts of the lockdowns, we took the concept of Pop-Up Pasifika and made it available virtually on Facebook with the creation of Pop-Up Pasifika Online group - www.facebook.com/groups/PopUpPasifika/
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Thursday 30 April, 2020
On PMN 531 Pi talking about this initiative.
Always grateful to Pacific Media Network for their ongoing support. Acknowledging Ma'a Brian Sagala for having us on his breakfast show. |