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Tribe Marianas takes on Las Vegas
Local brand setting up shop at 2016 Labor Day Tourney
What started as a dream, which became a business, is now taking its branded message on the road. Tribe Marianas, the CNMI’s first flagship brand that has been in existence for nearly a year has announced that it will open up a pop-up shop at the 2016 CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament.
The annual floating event which attracts thousands of spectators, many of whom are homegrown CNMI residents, will take place from Sept. 2 to 4 at the Shadow Rocks Park in Las Vegas, Nevada, hosted by Team Isao, a softball team of stateside NMI residents based in Las Vegas.
The idea of opening up a booth at the event came about during one of the brand’s planning meetings, according to Tribe Marianas co-founders Rob Travilla and TJ Manglona. “We were all talking about future goals and events to attend and all of us looked at each other and said, “Hey the CNMI Labor Day Tournament!” We mapped it out and found out it was going to be held in Las Vegas this year and we went ahead and contacted tournament chair James Sablan. We kept pushing to save enough funds to make it happen. Fast forward to now and we’re honored to have this opportunity to go out there and represent the Commonwealth,” according to Travilla, who also serves as the brand’s creative director.
The company has had a busy opening year since setting up shop last December with countless merchandise items flying off the shelves at their Garapan shop, establishing a heavy online and social media presence, along with a few business collaborations with such brands as Budweiser and Docomo Pacific.
When asked why having a presence at the tournament was important to him and his team despite having tremendous worldwide accessibility, Travilla said, “We do have our online store that is accessible to all our brothers and sisters around the world, but I think being out there physically is a different vibe. It becomes much more personal. Not only will we be able to bring the product to them, but we’ll be able to talk about the motherland and share stories about home.” Along with reconnecting with friends and family, Travilla added, “It’s always been our mission to spread the Marianas worldwide and I think this is a great outlet to get our product in the hands of our brethren in the mainland U.S.”
In closing, Travilla had this to say: “We at Tribe would like to thank Mr. James Sablan and Team Isao for their efforts in putting this event together and for keeping in touch with us. On behalf of Tribe Marianas, we really can’t wait to see you all in Shadow Park, Las Vegas and share the good vibes and our love for the Mariana Islands. Besides the tournament—we got a lot of family and friends that we haven’t seen in years and it’s going to be great to have everyone in one field. The entire team and I have been working hard to make this dream come true and I’m proud to say that we’re coming. We’ve done our best to pack as many coconuts, sand, salt water, and Hafa Adai with us.”
To check out additional information in this year’s CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament, check out www.isaovegas.com, which include game rules and helpful links on places to stay if you plan on coming to see the action. To check out the Tribe Marianas brand, you can log on to their official site and online store at www.tribemarianas.com. (PR)
