Flame Tree fest opens tomorrow

Now in its 21st year, the Flame Tree Arts Festival has grown to become the largest annual arts and cultural event in the Micronesian region. This year’s Flame Tree Arts Festival will be no exception.

The event will kick off this Friday, April 19. at 6pm with a lineup of scheduled bands for the evening. This year’s event will include nearly 150 different vendors, artists and informational organizations.

The festival’s two stages will feature over 60 different performing groups that range from bands to traditional, chanting and modern dancers.

Special activities will include an Attiwa or a welcoming ceremony for the Satawal to Saipan canoe voyagers, who will make landfall at the Festival site on Saturday morning. The Attiwa ceremony will begin at around 9am. Everyone is invited.

Delegations from the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Guam, as well as, delegations from Rota and Tinian will be participating in the event with displays of art and craftworks and performances.

From storyboard carvings to photography to paintings and beadwork, the Festival will be the place to see the best of local arts.

The Flame Tree Arts Festival will be open on Friday, April 19, from 6pm to 12am; on Saturday, April 20, 9am-12am; and on Sunday, April 21, 10am-8:30pm.

The opening ceremonies for the event will take place on Saturday at around 10:30am, immediately following the Attiwa ceremony. Entrance is free and everyone is encouraged to visit.