Koblerville Elementary tops caroling contest—again

Koblerville Elementary School was hailed the big winner in the Christmas in the Marianas festival Saturday night after successfully defending its title and bagging the championship honor for the second time.

Koblerville bested six other elementary schools in the caroling competition and went home with the $1,000 grand prize.

This year marks the 10th year of the competition and drew hundreds of spectators to the American Memorial Park for the three-hour celebration.

Koblerville principal Rizalina Purugganan said this year’s winning group is composed of 25 members from kindergarten through sixth grade who are all members of the school’s Umang Glee Club.

“We’re very happy and proud of our Umang Glee Club for continuously doing a great job!” she told Saipan Tribune. Koblerville has been joining the caroling competition for three years now.

Purugganan disclosed that they will use the cash prize to once again send the Umang Glee Club to the upcoming Tumon Bay Music Festival in Guam where the group bagged the second place trophy last year, next to Saipan Southern High School’s Manta Ray Band.

She, along with the young carolers, accepted the award from Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio and the festival’s panel of judges.

The winning group serenaded the crowd with Christmas carols sung in a variety of languages, complemented with synchronized dance steps and amazing vocal talents. They received 94 points from the panel of judges.

Named second best carolers were the 40-member group of Dandan Elementary School, which was awarded $800 in cash. In third place with a $600 prize was Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School, while San Vicente Elementary snagged fourth place, taking home the $400 prize.

In the secondary division, Kagman High School’s musical group was hailed the top winner and went home with $650 while its sole competitor, Chacha Oceanview Junior High School, was awarded $450 cash prize.

This year was a first for secondary schools to join the caroling contest.

Other participants in the competition were Oleai Elementary, Agape Christian School, and Green Meadows.

Festival’s best float

Besides the caroling contest, another component of the festival is the annual float competition where entries were made of all natural and recycled materials. There were four entries that joined the annual parade from Garapan Fishing Base to American Memorial Park.

MVA chief Perry Tenorio named Kagman Elementary School as the overall winner in the category. The school was awarded $1,000 cash prize for their float, which was decorated with plastic bottles, used CDs, trash bags, and empty cans.

Hailed second best float was the entry of Dandan Elementary School, which went home with the $800 cash prize. Chacha Oceanview Junior High and Green Meadows emerged third and fourth placers, respectively and were awarded cash prizes.

According to Tenorio, MVA is committed to doing the festival again next year and he challenged all schools—primary and secondary—to join next year’s celebration.

The Christmas in the Marianas festival was made possible by MVA in collaboration with sponsors: Public School System, IT&E, DFS, Marianas Walking Association, Pacific Islands Club, Marianas Tourism Education Council, Chamorro Carolinian Village Inc., Department of Public Safety, Team PDI, National Park, Integrity Communications, and KKMP.