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‘King of the Grill’ at Taste of the Marianas on June 17
‘Taste’ tokens available at MVA
Light the grill!
The Budweiser King of the Grill 2023 gives the public the chance to choose a winner this Saturday, June 17, at the 24th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden at Garapan Fishing Base on Saipan.
And to get festivalgoers to the food faster, festival tokens can be purchased before Saturday at the Marianas Visitors Authority office on the first floor of the Gold Beach Hotel, Beach Road, Saipan, from 1pm to 4pm, Monday through Friday (except holidays). Individuals wanting to purchase tokens before Saturday may do so with cash at the MVA office or with PayPal or credit/debit card at www.mymarianas.com (select “Pay via PayPal.”) for pickup at the MVA office or in the expedited line at the token booth at the festival grounds.
“It’s going to be another exciting Saturday with a great entertainment lineup and the Budweiser King of the Grill,” said MVA managing director Christopher A. Concepcion. “If you have not yet gotten your tokens and want to skip the token booth line, just stop by the MVA office in the afternoon during the week and you can quickly purchase tokens in advance…more time to enjoy the fun on Saturday!”
Budweiser King of the Grill 2023, organized by the Marianas Variety in celebration of Father’s Day, will kick off at 4pm with the Chefs Division, featuring chefs from local eateries. For $20 beginning at 5:30pm, festivalgoers can sample 10 steak entries while imbibing a cold Budweiser and voting for the People’s Choice winner. Around 6pm, the Indies Division will light up. Registration is still open, and registration forms and regulations are available at the reception office of Marianas Variety in Garapan or online. Cash prizes await the winners. The contest is also sponsored by Payless SuperFresh & Truckload Store, Joeten Wholesale, and MVA.
The Taste of the Marianas, the largest food festival in the Marianas and an annual signature event of the MVA, is being held every Saturday in June. The festival offers affordable dishes from local hotels and restaurants, live entertainment, and arts and crafts sales from 5pm to 10pm nightly and until 11pm on the final night.
This Saturday’s entertainment lineup will be Santiago Production (4:30pm), Da Kine (5pm), Marvin Deleon Guerrero (6pm), Unshakable (7pm), The Profound Bandits (7:30pm), High Tide (8pm), and Marianas Project Band (9pm).
At last Saturday’s Inas’ Fried Chicken Wing Eating Contest, Michael Do downed 48 pieces of chicken to win first place and a $300 gift certificate from Inas’ Kitchen. He was followed by Nazario Ajoste with 47pieces and a $200 gift certificate, and in third place, Gai Madge with 44 pieces and a $100 gift certificate.
Participating food vendors this year are Bistro Boyz 670, Chagi Norf, Chow Time, Cristianos Kitchen, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, Furusato Restaurant Saipan, Herman’s Modern Bakery, Island Grinz, Java Joe’s, Kamakazee’s, Kinpachi Japanese Restaurant, Saipan Cup Bab, Restaurant Loco & Taco, Majesty Restaurant, Mariana Lighthouse, Matty’s BBQ, Pho Tam, Oh My Grill – OMG – Saipan, Shirley’s Coffee Shop, Surf Club Saipan/Great Harvest Bread Co. Saipan, T-Bar CNMI, The Hut, Tyler’s Gelatte Stone, and Vi-lynn’s BBQ. Drink vendors are MARPAC, WESTCO and Napu Brewing.
The event is co-organized by the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands Platinum sponsors are Marianas Variety, Dave Electronics, and Turnkey Solutions. Gold sponsor is Hawaiian Rock Products. Silver sponsor is Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan. Bronze sponsors are EST Rental, Jonny’s Bar & Grill, New XO Market, Triple J Five Star Wholesale, M&C LLC Construction, Joeten Enterprises, and Northern Marianas Technical Institute. (MVA)
