NMI FestPac delegation excited for event

The 250-strong CNMI delegation is excited and ready to join its Pacific neighbors in celebrating the culture and lifestyle of islanders in next month’s 12th Festival of the Pacific Arts to be held at the Paseo de Susana Park in Hagatna, Guam.

CNMI head of delegation John Oliver Gonzales said they capitalized on the proximity of the host nation and asked the organizers to allow the CNMI to go beyond the 100-person limit allotted for each country.

CNMI delegates will be among the more than 3,000 delegates attending the quadrennial event set from May 22 to June 4. The Festival of the Pacific Arts or Pacific Arts Festival is a quadrennial event hosted by a different country alternating within Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

“The entire blue continent will converge in Guam to celebrate island culture. It is time for us Micronesians to showcase our culture and at the same time reconnect with our ancestors,” said Gonzales.

“It is not only a celebration for Micronesia but for Oceania as a whole. It is our time to share the spirit of goodwill and camaraderie to our brothers and sisters in the Pacific Islands,” added Gonzales

He said the CNMI delegation would take the less than an hour travel down south separately on May 17, 18, and 19. Most of the delegates performed in the recently concluded 35th Flame Tree Arts Festival last week.

“But there are those who are living and working in Guam. They would also join us there. The entire CNMI delegation will be in Guam a couple of days before the May 22 opening and Parade of Nations,” said Gonzales.

He added that the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative delegation held a meeting to appropriate money to help fund their trip. The Marianas Visitors Authority and T Galleria also helped the CNMI delegation to the Pacific Arts Festival.

Delegates also had their own fundraising activities. They needed to raise $200 to pay the $50 registration fee and the rest for pocket money.

The Hawaii-Polynesia region will be hosting the 2020 edition of the event considered as the Olympics of culture and the arts in the Pacific. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community will hold a meeting to decide which country from Melanesia will host the 2024 FestPac.

Gonzales said hosting rights will return to Micronesia in 2028 and choosing the next host country is done eight years before the event. “It needs a lot of preparation. The organizers need to plan on how to find different funding sources.”

American Samoa, Australia, the Cook Islands, Easter Island, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, the State of Hawaii, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna are the Pacific Island countries and territories that are expected to join the festival.