The Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation has set aside $120,000 for the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office to be used for the staging of the upcoming Liberation Day festival in July. <\/p>\n
During the Liberation Day committee\u2019s weekly meeting yesterday at the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office, Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang announced that the local delegation has appropriated a portion of the poker gaming revenue tax to the Liberation Day festivities. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole intent [of the $120,000 that was appropriated by the local delegation] is to use it for the Liberation [Day festival],\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
For now, the committee can only use $64,000 of that $120,000.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026What they [SNILD] did is they broke down the $3 [million and also allocated it to] other agencies\u2026we can only get $64,000 out of that right now. That\u2019s all the available funding that\u2019s coming in from the poker revenue,\u201d said Apatang. <\/p>\n
For now, that funding from the poker gaming revenue tax is the only source of funding that the committee can tap into, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are still waiting for the remaining balance so we can use it for the rest of the activities here\u2026It will come in as soon as we get available funding from the poker revenue,\u201d Apatang said. <\/p>\n
Fortunately, Apatang and the committee are already looking for alternate funding sources, with an eye toward hosting the best possible Liberation Day festival. <\/p>\n
\u201cI approached [the Marianas Visitors Authority] yesterday and they helped us out a little bit\u2026but we are going to check with the [Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands] for help and see if they can help us out a little bit more,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The Liberation Day queen competition is also a fundraiser for the festival, with the candidate raising the most money, through ticket sales, being named the Liberation Day queen.<\/p>\n
The festivities will start on June 29 and will lead up to the Liberation Day parade on July 4. The festivities will be held at the Garapan Fishing Base. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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