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LibDay Queen represents NMI at Japanese festival
Peyton Gomez, the 2017 Liberation Day Queen, is set to travel to Nagoya, Japan today to represent the island of Saipan in one of Japan’s biggest festivals.
Nagoya is home to the Hisaya Odori Park. The park is where the Nippon Domonnaka Festival is annually held, one of Japan’s biggest festivals.
According to Nippon Domannaka Festival executive managing director Koichi Mizuno, the festival, which was started by a student, has been held every summer for 19 years.
The festival has become one of the most anticipated events in Japan every year and has “been expanding beyond our imagination,” Mizuno said.
This year, Mizuno invited Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang to the festival to honor the successful relationship between the Commonwealth and Japan.
According to Mizuno, it is through the tremendous efforts of the tourism industries on island that Japan’s Domatsuri dancers have been participating in the island’s Liberation Day festival since 2003.
In place of Apatang, the island’s 2017 Liberation Day Queen, Peyton Gomez, will be representing the island.
The festival will start today, Aug. 25, and will carry on until Sunday, Aug. 27.
