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CCAC: April is best for Flame Tree Arts Festival
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Posted on Apr 22 2019
The Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture believes that April is the best month to hold the annual Flame Tree Arts Festival and intends to hold the festival this month moving forward.
CCAC executive director Parker Yobei said the annual Flame Tree Arts Festival would continue to be held every April, the time when the flame tree flowers are starting to go into full bloom on Saipan.
Yobei noted in an interview that he was commenting on a previous Marianas Visitors Authority board’s suggestion to move the annual Flame Tree Arts Festival to around June.
He said the CCAC had already tried holding the arts festival in June but, based on sales and participation, April is most ideal.
“We are going to stick to April because…it just didn’t work out for the artists and for the business side [of the festival],” he said. “I understand that the flame trees are in full bloom [around June] but it is actually in the month of April is when the first flower blooms.”
At the same time, holding the festival in June could possibly hinder Liberation Day planning. Liberation Day usually falls on July 4 every year.
“It just wouldn’t work out. We [would be] competing with other community activities. In February we have the Pika Festival on Tinian and March has the Women’s Month festivities, so April is just right for the Flame Tree Arts Festival,” he said.
The 38th Annual Flame Tree Arts Festival, held from April 11, 2019, through April 14, 2019, on Saipan according to Yobei saw the highest number of artist-participants.
