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HANMI marks 20 with bash of the year
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Posted on Sep 12 2005
The World Resort Hotel’s newly refurbished Diamond Hall, with its plush carpets and luxurious interiors, may not exactly fit your idea of a rock joint but that’s exactly what the place turned into, thanks to the prowess and immense talent of ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro, who awed the crowd at the 20th anniversary of the Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas with his bravura performance on the four-string instrument, coaxing impossible melodies from such a simple instrument that he truly deserves the title of a master. Dressed in a gray AC/DC shirt and faded jeans, Shimabukuro, 28, elicited a host of reactions that ran the gamut from “awesome” to “amazing.”
The HANMI event also featured a first-of-its-kind culinary delight: an eight-course dinner prepared by six executive chefs from Saipan’s resort hotels: Robert Stern of Pacific Islands Club, James Birk of World Resort, David Spitzer of Dai-ichi Hotel Saipan Beach, Christopher Adams of Saipan Grand Hotel, Hubert Friedle of Aqua Resort, and Gabriele Colombo of Hyatt Regency Saipan.
All in all, Saturday night’s event proved to be one of the highlights of Saipan’s social scene in the last few months, with the island’s glitterati all showing up to congratulate the organization for its incredible stamina and determination to survive despite the many challenges facing it. The event turned out so well that it would surely pressure the organization to put up an even more impressive display come their 21st anniversary next year! Again, congratulations to HANMI and here’s to another 20 years on the islands!
