Joseph Faavae | Island Block Network
In the heart of Los Angeles County, two public parks in Carson—James M. Foisia Park and Victoria Regional Park—serve as living, breathing stages where one of the largest Samoan communities in the United States performs the ongoing story of its culture.
A significant Samoan community was established in the area after 1951, when the U.S. Navy closed its base in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and offered jobs to about 1,000 Samoans at installations in Southern California, particularly in Carson and San Pedro.
The community celebration´s roots in Carson are no accident. Here, traditions are not museum exhibits but lived experiences, sustained through two pivotal annual events: the Samoan Heritage Festival and Samoan Flag Day. These gatherings, facing modern challenges, are the lifelines of Fa’a Samoa—the Samoan way—in America.
James M. Foisia Park: The Community’s Living Room
The park is our hood. It’s where we can educate our children about “Fa’a Samoa” (The Samoan Way)…it’s our home, far away from home. For generations, the 11-acre James M. Foisia Park has been the cornerstone of daily Samoan life in Carson. Formerly known as General Winfield Scott Park, it was renamed in 2018 to honor community leader and activist James Misa’alefua Foisia, a man instrumental in building Carson into a cultural enclave for Samoan settlers.
Its fields and picnic areas are a “malae” (traditional meeting grounds). Weekends transform the park into a vibrant village: the scent of barbecue and palusami (taro leaves in coconut cream) fills the air, elders converse under shade trees, and the sounds of sports and laughter echo. It’s where families celebrate milestones and navigates “fa’alavelave” (crises or obligations), and where elders counsel youth.
As a “safe haven,” its sports programs are crucial, providing purpose and fostering teamwork for Samoan youth. The park is a bridge between generations, where the past is honored, and the future is shaped.
Victoria Regional Park: The Grand Stage for National Celebration
Eight miles away, the expansive Victoria Regional Park hosts a different scale of cultural expression: the week-long Samoan Flag Day, which began in 1975, commemorates the date when American Samoa became a United States territory. This event, running for over 50 years, is the largest and longest-running Samoan Flag Day celebration in the U.S., attracting tens of thousands.
Where Foisia Park is intimate, Victoria Park is grand and inclusive. For eight days each August, it becomes a microcosm of the Samoan diaspora. The park hosts an international cricket tournament featuring teams from Utah, Hawaii, and Australia, along with vibrant cultural performances, arts and crafts vendors, and traditional foods.
This festival uniquely unites Samoans from both American Samoa and the independent nation of Samoa. As former organizer Chief Pele Faletogo stated, “This is a Samoan-American thing… It’s not an American Samoan thing. It’s not a Western Samoan thing”. It’s a powerful assertion of a shared identity on American soil.
The Organizers: Stewards of Culture
The continuity of these festivals depends on dedicated individuals who navigate significant challenges. As the Senior Recreation Center Supervisor for the City of Carson, Janny Noa spearheads the official Samoan Heritage Festival at Foisia Park. Her role is to create an accessible, educational, and joyous event that reflects the community’s richness. The festival, like the 2025 edition headlined by island music award winner Spawnbreezie and living legends The Jets, is a free, all-day event featuring non-stop cultural performances, an ava ceremony, and local food.
Noa’s work, supported by the city, showcases Samoan culture to the broader public. Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes has emphasized the festival’s role in celebrating Carson’s diversity and the richness of Samoan culture. For Noa, the park provides the perfect venue to fulfill the festival’s aim: to teach all community members about their Samoan neighbors through dance, food, and talent.
Marilyn Hopkinson represents the grassroots effort behind Samoan Flag Day. She inherited the event in 2018 and faces the relentless challenge of funding. “The biggest challenge we face each year is funding…Costs to everything doubled…Sponsors cut their donations in half,” Hopkinson explains. Despite misconceptions, the event is not fully funded by the city or county; it relies heavily on private donations and personal sacrifice.
Her leadership goes beyond logistics. She revived the cricket tournament, sent local candidates to the Miss Samoa pageant, and during the pandemic, supported families who lost loved ones. For Hopkinson, the fight for funding is about preserving a vital cultural institution. “We must continue to celebrate and educate our generations today and tomorrow,” she asserts, viewing the festival as an essential annual reunion and classroom for the diaspora.
An Enduring Legacy
These events are critical tools for cultural preservation in a community where, as Chief Faletogo observed, Americanization can erode traditions and language among the youth.
The Samoan Heritage Festival is an introductory gateway. It invites Carson residents of all backgrounds to experience Samoa through performance and taste. It’s a point of pride and visibility for a community that numbers over 50,000 in LA County.
Samoan Flag Day is a deep dive for the initiated. Its weeklong schedule allows for the practice of complex traditions, from formal ceremonies to international sports. It directly counters cultural erosion by actively engaging youth in their heritage.
Both events reinforce identity. As a young student said in 2000, “to be Samoan means being strong… And it means celebrating your culture and your family.” These festivals provide the space for that celebration and strengthening.
The tale of these two parks is ultimately one of resilience. Foisia and Victoria Parks are not passive backdrops but active protagonists in the story of Southern California’s Samoan community. Through the diligent work of organizers like Janny Noa and Marilyn Hopkinson, these spaces transform into cultural engines.
They ensure that Fa’a Samoa thrives across generations, offering a “home far away from home” in Foisia Park and a national proving ground in Victoria Park. As long as the festivals continue, the stories will be told, the dances will be performed, and the culture will remain not just alive, but vibrantly evolving on these cherished American stages.
This story was produced by American Community Media in collaboration with the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS) at UCLA as part of the Greening American Cities initiative supported by the Bezos Earth Fund. Read more stories like this by visiting the Greening Communities homepage.
