Christmas Parade of Lights a success

The annual Christmas Parade of Lights organized by the Marianas Visitors Authority last Saturday was a success. It brought families, friends, and the whole community along Beach Road in Garapan to catch the Christmas spirit and watch Christmas-themed floats.

According to MVA managing director Chris Concepcion it’s been several years since MVA hosted the Christmas Parade of Lights.

“Every year, the parade features schools and government agencies on floats with lights and Christmas-themed decorations and music. It’s always a great feeling to see the community come out to witness and enjoy the Christmas Parade,” he said.

“School children and government agencies put a lot of effort into creating these unique floats and I’m sure they are humbled by the crowd that showed up,” he added.

MVA recognizes that Christmas is the most important time of the year and an opportune time for the community and tourists to celebrate it as one.

“Christmas is a time of joy, giving, reflection, and peace. Traditionally, as a predominantly Catholic community, Christmas signifies the birth of Christ and has major religious significance. As an American commonwealth, Christmas has become a consumer-driven, festive holiday period, meant to be spent with family and friends,” he said.

“As a tourist destination, Christmas is a time for our visitors who are primarily from Asia to enjoy a bit of the Chamorro, Carolinian, and American cultures, on gorgeous tropical islands with perfect weather, flashing lights, decorative Christmas trees, presents, and our warm hospitality found only in the CNMI,” he added.

One of the biggest surprises at the parade was the mystery Santa Claus who turned out to be Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang.

“That was all the mayor’s idea. I was surprised when I walked around the floats prior to the parade and was being called over by Santa Claus only to realize it was actually Mayor Apatang! That was a fun encounter,” Concepcion said.

“Having the honorable mayor of Saipan attend with his staff, having him dressed up as Santa, really meant a lot to our team at MVA and to the community at large. Our mayor is a strong supporter of the tourism industry. We extend our gratitude to the mayor and his hardworking team for their participation in the Christmas Parade,” Concepcion added.

MVA is going full blast with Christmas events as they invite everyone to join the festivities at the Paseo de Marianas in Garapan on Dec. 23 and 30.

“I personally would like to recognize my hard working team at the MVA on Rota, Tinian, and Saipan for their dedication to the MVA and the tourism industry. Our work never ends. I look at my gray hair in the mirror sometimes and I am reminded of the stress we go through day in and day out, all for the people of the CNMI,” he said.

“The MVA wishes the people of the CNMI a very Merry Christmas. Thank you for your continued support of the tourism industry. There will be ups and downs, as is normal in our industry, but what is constant is the teamwork that exists and must continue for the CNMI to keep moving forward in today’s world,” he added.