{"id":192970,"date":"2015-03-03T04:00:57","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T18:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=192970"},"modified":"2015-03-03T04:00:57","modified_gmt":"2015-03-02T18:00:57","slug":"11th-tinian-hot-pepper-festival-just-pika","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/11th-tinian-hot-pepper-festival-just-pika\/","title":{"rendered":"11th Tinian Hot Pepper Festival just \u2018pika\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cPika\u201d is the perfect word to describe the 11th Annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival on Feb. 14-15, 2015, as \u201cpika\u201d is a Chamorro word that can mean both \u201cspicy\u201d or \u201cspot-on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The annual President\u2019s Day weekend celebration held in honor of donni sali, a small but potent hot pepper that is indigenous to the island, offered the perfect blend of island partying at the festival grounds and quiet escape at isolated beaches and back roads. Mayor JP San Nicholas welcomed visitors to the event during the opening ceremony, where Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio and 15th Tinian Municipal Council chair Raynaldo Cing also spoke.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The crowd enjoys entertainment at the 11th Annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival on Feb. 14-15, 2015, in the Northern Mariana Islands. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ladies<\/a>
Ladies compete in the hot pepper eating contest during the 11th Annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival in the Northern Mariana Islands on Feb. 14-15, 2015. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bands<\/a>
Bands and dance groups including the Sunset Cruisers provide live entertainment during the 11th Annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival in the Northern Mariana Islands on Feb. 14-15, 2015. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Twenty-five vendors joined the event, which also featured non-stop entertainment, including live performances by Kiilani Dance group, the Sunset Cruisers, and Danny Laniyo of Saipan. Other entertainment was provided by groups from Tinian, including Tinian Elementary Chamorro Bilingual Group, Tom Hoshi\u2019s Dance Group, HD Crew Dance, Nikita & Anthony\u2019s Band, Tao Tao Taga Cultural Dance Academy, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe island of Tinian has much to offer visitors throughout the year in terms of natural beauty and history,\u201d said MVA Community Projects manager Martin Duenas. \u201cBut the Hot Pepper Festival puts Tinian\u2019s island life and island hospitality in the spotlight, making it a great weekend for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tinian native Corey Jess San Nicolas again took bragging rights in the hot pepper eating competition men\u2019s division. In the women\u2019s set, Lucia Ayuyu walked away with the top honor. Both also earned $150, while second place winners earned $100, and third place winners garnered $75.<\/p>\n

In the estafao pika (spicy beef stew) cooking competition, Jason Santos received the winning nod from judges for his flavorful blend incorporating the celebrated pepper.<\/p>\n

In the popular umang (hermit crab) race, a number of youngsters pitted their shelled competitors against each other on a wooden track. First place went to Hailey Rae Santos\u2019 entry in the girls division and Brayden Santos in the boys division.<\/p>\n

In more vigorous efforts, the team of JC Caf\u00e9 topped the dragon boat race, Team Umang hammered the beach volleyball win, and hot pepper champion San Nicholas also took first place in the tug of war.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the weekend of fun and festivity, Nang\u2019s Snack Mobile pocketed $200 for having the best-decorated booth at the venue.<\/p>\n

The annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival, held on Presidents Day weekend in February, is organized by the MVA and co-sponsored by the Tinian Mayor\u2019s Office, Tinian Municipal Council, Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, and MARPAC. (MVA)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPika\u201d is the perfect word to describe the 11th Annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":192980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[121,2516,2517,1957],"class_list":["post-192970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biba-marianas","tag-northern-mariana-islands","tag-raynaldo-cing","tag-sunset-cruisers","tag-tinian-municipal-council"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}