Kagman Elementary School tops float competition

Kagman Elementary School students set another record at the 28th Flame Tree Arts Festival after they successfully defended their best float title during Saturday’s competition held at Susupe Civic Center.

Led by principal Ignacia Demapan and school coordinator Maria Helena Jebehn, students amazed spectators with their creativity in designing their float. It carried the island’s traditional hut design, various local produce, and specific items specific to other countries and ethnicities.

The students continued to impress jurors when they showcased traditional costumes of various countries as they waived to the crowd during the festival parade Saturday morning.

The float’s notable displays—that included the islands’ traditional canoe, fishing materials, latte stone, Yap’s money stone, Japanese shrine, flags of different nations, and others—also got the jurors’ approval.

This year’s theme is “Uniting Rainbows of Cultures and Traditions.”

Demapan, elated by the festival turnout, disclosed that ever since they decided to enter the competition last year, their students have been focused to win.

She vowed to continue the school’s participation in the event which, she said, is an extension of the classroom for student learning.

“This served as an extension of what our kids learned in the school. We’re bringing them here for them to actually experience and witness the diverse cultures we have in the community. The kids’ involvement in this festival is also our way of partnering with the community,” Demapan said.

Jebehn said it took the school some weeks to complete the preparation for the festival.

“It’s all worth it because this provides fun and learning to our students,” she said, adding that it is also the school’s goal to expose kids to community events.

Kagman Elementary School students went home with $500 in cash for their victory.

Named second best float was the “bull cart” entry presented by the family of Eusebio Borja, who is among the sons of the Rosa Borja known for her preservation of the islands’ culture and traditions. Decorated by local produce and century old artifacts, the “bull-cart” was pulled by a cow.

Meanwhile, students of Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School were overjoyed when their entry was named third best float in the competition.

Second and third best floats received cash prizes of $300 and $200, respectively.

Few parade participants

Despite the presence of “only” 200 participants, Parade of Cultures coordinator Jonas Barcinas said the outcome was still satisfying.

He noted that there were other events held simultaneously on island last Saturday.

“We’re very happy with the turnout because we also knew that we have other events ongoing on island,” he said.

There were originally five entries for the float competition but due to unexpected circumstances, two of the contenders backed out at the last minute.

The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, through festival coordinator Lucille Ayuyu, said they were also quite satisfied with the outcome of the parade and float competition.

“It’s extremely satisfying to see another successful year for the Flame Tree Arts Festival,” said Ayuyu.

The four-day event was also graced by a crew from National Geographic which traveled to cover the visiting master navigators from Satawal.