Christmas in the Marianas illuminates on Nov. 30

The Marianas Visitors Authority, PDM Promoters, Inc., Team PDI, and other travel partners invite the public to join the kick-off of five consecutive weeks of Christmas in the Marianas beginning this Saturday, Nov. 30, at 6pm at Paseo de Marianas.

Saturday’s activities will start with a Japanese cultural performance by Saipan Awaodori, followed by a countdown to the illumination of the official Christmas Tree and Christmas trees decorated by local schools. Schools will give a brief description of their trees, which will be judged for awarding of prizes. The rest of the evening will be celebrated with Christmas caroling by elementary school students from Kagman (7:15pm), Green Meadow (7:35pm), Koblerville (7:50pm), Oleai (8:05pm), San Vicente (8:20pm), Mt. Carmel (8:35pm) Saipan International (8:50pm), Grace Christian Academy (9:05pm), Agape Christian (9:20pm), and Green Meadow Middle School (9:35pm). The school trees, decorated with recyclable material, will remain on display at the pedestrian mall in Saipan’s main tourist district until after New Year’s.

On Dec. 7, Christmas caroling will continue for middle, junior, and high schools from 6pm to 10pm. On Dec. 14, a Christmas parade will be held at 6pm from Garapan Fishing Base north on Beach Road to Paseo de Marianas, where a costume show and additional entertainment will follow on-stage. The evening’s entertainment will also include award ceremonies for the various contests held for schools.

Dec. 21 will feature a special night with Skymark Airlines Inc., which will launch regular direct flights from Tokyo to Saipan on Nov. 29, 2019. Three roundtrip tickets on Skymark will be raffled off throughout the evening, local dance groups and performers from Japan will highlight the night’s entertainment, and the winner of the Skymark Night Plane Contest will be awarded.

The final evening on Dec. 28 will be highlighted by another Saipan Awaodori team performance and annual Mochitsuki Festival, a Japanese holiday featuring the pounding of “mochi” (glutinous rice) for the new year. Holiday Rock’n in American Sign Language and other entertainers will fill the rest of the evening.

“On behalf of the MVA, our co-organizers, and our many sponsors, we invite everyone to come to Paseo de Marianas this Saturday for the kick-off of Christmas in the Marianas at 6pm,” said MVA managing director Priscilla M. Iakopo. “We are looking forward to an extraordinary five weeks of celebration with some new and exciting features, and we hope everyone will make time to celebrate the holidays on Saturday nights with us.”

The event is sponsored by Island Image & Motion, Hyatt Regency Saipan, Kensington hotel Saipan, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority, and Chamolinian Cultural Village Inc. Additional support is provided by the Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Department of Public Lands, Department of Public Safety, Department of Fire & Emergency Medical Services, Lollipop’s, Hard Rock Café Saipan, Furusato, Century Tours/iShop, and McDonald’s of Saipan.

COTA shuttle service will be provided from American Memorial Park parking lot to Paseo de Marianas beginning at 5pm (last shuttle at 9:30pm) and from Paseo de Marianas crosswalk across from Fiesta Resort & Spa to American Memorial Park beginning at 5:10pm (last shuttle at 9:40pm) every 15 minutes.

For more information, contact lead event coordinator and MVA Community Projects specialist Ray Villagomez at rvillagomez@mymarianas.com or 1 (670) 664-.3200/1, or for information on the Skymark Night Plane Contest, contact info@mymarianas.com. (PR)