Hyatt celebrates 43rd birthday, unveils traditional Christmas tree

To usher in the holiday season while simultaneously celebrating 43 years on the island, Hyatt Regency Saipan unveiled one of the very first traditional Christmas trees on its birthday celebration last Saturday at its location in Garapan, complete with a tree-lighting ceremony and Christmas carolers.

It was learned at the ceremony that the 12-foot tree was a collaborative effort of three local artists: Tyler Warwick, Albert Emanonipiy and Pat Mareham, with Warwick and Emanonipiy taking charge of building the structure, and Mareham in charge of the decor.

Hyatt Regency Saipan general manager Simon Graf thanked each artist for lending their talent to make the tree and to the community for letting Hyatt be a part of their lives.

As a part of the Hyatt’s celebration of its anniversary, it will be hosting a silent auction, with the Saipan Humane Society as its beneficiary.

In a conversation with Warwick, he said that building the tree began in October, and he knew that just finding and preparing the materials alone was tedious work, but after some hesitation on his part, he and Emanonipiy began the build.

“We never built anything like this before. I myself have had three years experience in building and carving, but our brother, Albert, is the one more experienced than I am. I did a lot of the fetching the sticks and the weaving but he knows the tie points and how it’s going to look like,” he said, adding that Emanonipiy grew up in Satawal in the Federated States of Micronesia and he was raised building traditional canoes and houses.

Warwick explained that he couldn’t have done it without his partner and that it was a collaborative effort. Warwick said the build itself was based on their knowledge of building traditional houses, except with a tepee-like structure.

“We build traditional houses so we use those techniques and style…,” he said.

He and Emanonipiy used close to 50 coconut fronds and used no nails to build the structure. Rather, they tied it together in the traditional manner.

Mareham was unable to make it to the ceremony.

After the ceremony, Graf said Hyatt Regency Saipan wanted to have something eco-friendly, while also respecting the local community, hence this special Christmas tree.

“… We think about a lot of processes when it comes to environmental friendliness, when it comes to water conservation, when it comes to recycling processes. But part of our business is also to respect the local community, to be a part of the heritage and the culture. Looking at all of these stakeholders, we thought, ‘Let’s combine something altogether to represent all of these stakeholders,” said Graf.

He acknowledged that Hyatt Regency Saipan has broken many records in the past, is a fundamental partner on the island and is famous beyond the borders “so for me it’s a privilege and in honor to be a part of this legacy.”

The resort closed the event with traditional dances, songs, and shouts of “Happy birthday, Hyatt!”