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17th Annual Taste of the Marianas kicks off
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Posted on May 06 2015
The 17th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden kicked off on Saturday, May 2, bringing some of the best of island cuisine and entertainment to American Memorial Park.
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- Furusato Restaurant and 14 other food and beverage vendors serve up dinner and dessert on opening night of the 17th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden on May 2, 2015. (MVA)
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- Pacific Islands Club Saipan and 14 other food and beverage vendors served up dinner and dessert on opening night of the 17th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden on May 2, 2015. (MVA)
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- MVA Hopwood INATUAS performs at the 17th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden on May 2, 2015. (MVA)
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- Winners of the youth heat of the Hotdog Eating Competition take a commemorative photo during the Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden on May 2, 2015. From left are Marianas Visitors Authority marketing manager and emcee Bruce Bateman, Michael Alovera (first place), Archival Vuasco (second place), and John Francis Santiago (third place), and Festival coordinator Ryan Calvo. (MVA)
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- Winners of the adult heat of the Hotdog Eating Competition take a commemorative photo during the Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden on May 2, 2015. From left are Marianas Visitors Authority marketing manager and emcee Bruce Bateman, Simon Necesito (second place), Andrew Songsong (first place), Ramon Emul (third place), and judges Juni Ramon and Naomi Santos. (MVA)
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- Flores Siser performs at the 17th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden on May 2, 2015, in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. (MVA)
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- Hopwood INATUAS performs at the 17th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden on May 2, 2015. (MVA)
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- Saipan Southern Warriors dance at the 17th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden on May 2, 2015. (MVA)
The event is held every Saturday evening beginning at 6pm in May as part of the monthlong celebration of Tourism Month in the Northern Mariana Islands.
“A great turnout,” said Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio about opening night. “Thanks to the new site layout there was also more space, making the event more comfortable for the crowd.”
The MVA, the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the National Park Service jointly hosted the annual event.
Revelers joined two heats of the Hotdog Eating Competition, with Michael Alovera finishing first in the youth division, followed by Archival Vuasco in second place, and John Francis Santiago rounding out the winners in third place by default, having the least remaining hotdogs of all remaining competitors. In the adult division, it was a return of place finishers from prior years, with Andrew Songsong clearly nabbing first place, Simon Necesito demolishing his way to second place, and Ramon Emul finishing third. The winners walked away with $50, $30, and $20 worth of Taste tokens.
This Saturday, May 9, the Taste of the Marianas will feature the Pie-Eating Contest at the rear stage. At 8pm will be the heat for contestants under age 18, with adults battling it out at 8:30pm. The entertainment lineup slated for this Saturday includes Out of the Ordinary Band, Rose Dance Studio, Jamaican Tangantangan, Simiyan Manainata, and JJ Concepcion and the TRU Marianas.
“We want to remind patrons that this is the last Taste of the Marianas to redeem yellow $1 tokens,” said Tenorio. “Yellow tokens should be spent at the festival or redeemed for cash at the Marianas Visitors Authority office.”
Taste of the Marianas offers international cuisine at affordable prices by 15 hotels and restaurant vendors, non-stop live entertainment on the main stage, nightly contests on the secondary stage, and arts and crafts sales. (MVA)
