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30th Flame Tree Arts Festival kicks off tonight
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Posted on Jun 08 2011
The much awaited 30th Annual Flame Tree Arts Festival opens tonight at 6pm at the American Memorial Park in Garapan.
The Arts Council and the festival committee announced that some of the off-island delegates participating in this year’s festivities have already arrived.
The nine-member delegation from New Zealand, which will perform on Saturday and Sunday, arrived early Wednesday morning after a layover in Guam.
Meanwhile, the 36-member Hula Dream Team from Fussa City in Japan is scheduled to arrive early Friday morning to present traditional folk dances and their own Polynesian moves during their performance on Saturday.
Overall festival committee chair Parker Y. Yobei said they are very excited to welcome the off-island delegates.
“We are saddened, however, that the performing artists we expect from Palau, Guam, Marshall Islands, American Samoa, Rota, and Tinian had to pull out at the last minute due to lack of resources,” he said.
According to Yobei, the Arts Council could not afford to cover the travel and accommodation expenses for the performers unlike in the previous years “as we are operating on a tight budget.”
For his part, Arts Council executive director Angel S. Hocog encouraged the public to “look at the brighter side of things” and welcome the New Zealand and Japan delegations as well as support the talented local performers.
“I urge the community to watch our guests perform during the festival and extend our island hospitality to them,” said Hocog. “Let us support the advancement of arts and culture in the Commonwealth by taking part in the 30th Annual Flame Tree Arts Festival.’
Yobei said there will be eight food vendor booths and 60 artist booths for the public to visit and enjoy in this year’s festival, which will run until Sunday.
Raffle tickets and souvenir T-shirts will also be available for sale at the festival grounds.
The largest cultural event in the CNMI, Flame Tree Arts Festival promotes and perpetuates the knowledge and skills of gifted local artists by providing an avenue for them to demonstrate and display their exceptional arts and crafts.
This year’s theme is “30 years of Uniting Cultures and Traditions.”
