HONOLULU (CN) — Hawaii will showcase traditional arts, dances, cuisines and customs next month as the state takes its first turn hosting the 52-year-old international Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture.
The 13th edition of the festival, held every four years in different locations across the Pacific islands, is slated for June 6-16 on Oahu. Organizers expect an influx of thousands of visitors to attend the world's largest celebration of Indigenous Pacific islanders.
Governor Josh Green highlighted the historic nature of Hawaii's first opportunity to host FestPAC during a news conference at Washington Place, the governor's residence, on Tuesday.
Green likened the event to a combination of the Olympics and the Merrie Monarch Festival, a weeklong gathering celebrating Hawaiian culture.
"Since its inception in 1972, FestPAC has been significant as a venue for honoring and preserving Pacific arts and culture. So it is a very, very big deal," said Green. "The fact that it's here for the first time may mean it's not going to be here for the rest of our lifetime. So this is it. Everyone who can attend should attend; it's going to be magical."
Various free events featuring the cultures of 27 Pacific countries will take place at the Hawaii Convention Center and multiple venues on Oahu.
Suva, Fiji, held the first edition in 1972. Since then, different Pacific Island nations have hosted FestPAC on a rotating basis, getting an opportunity to showcase their unique culture and hospitality. Guam held the last edition in 2016; the 2020 edition was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Established by the Pacific Community, an intergovernmental agency dedicated to the development of the Pacific region, the festival serves as a platform to showcase, highlight and sustain the rich artistic and cultural expressions of Indigenous communities.
The event's centerpiece, a festival village, presented a "massive challenge" for Linda Lileikis, senior associate and project director at AHL architecture firm, in crafting the exhibit hall.
"This was the first time this is being created indoors in a very sterile exhibit hall, so we've taken cues from traditional Hawaiian colleagues," Lileikis said.
She said she hoped the village would be "a sort of portal to transport you back in time."
A video rendering showed several hut-like structures and multiple stages for dances from different Pacific cultures. Lileikis said there are 28 structures in total, 20 by 30 feet and 18 feet tall.
Festival Director Aaron J. Sala talked about the collaboration of the State Department of Land and Natural Resources with the Albizia Project to clear 2,000 invasive species, including trees, from the inland forest of Waimanalo. They revealed petroglyphs, ancient footpaths and traditional Hawaiian lauae — fern terraces. As part of the event's sustainable initiatives, builders used lumber from the site to construct the huts for the exhibition hall.
Sala said he wants the festival to be more than an entertaining cultural exchange, serving as a venue for Pacific leaders to practice international diplomacy and jointly tackle complex social issues, with a particular focus on challenges like climate change that have a big impact on island communities.
Various speakers cited specific cases of climate change impacting islanders, including the devastating Maui wildfires and the recent landslide in Papua New Guinea that officials estimate killed about 2,000 people.
“Owing to the work of climate change, Tuvalu will literally lose enough land mass to lose its capacity as a state within the world,” Sala said. “So the language they’re using at this point is to redesign the metaverse so that as climate change displaces the population, Tuvalu has a place to bring their people together. This kind of radical thinking about our responsibility as Pacific islanders to our own homelands and our responsibilities to how our homelands speak on a global level is really keen to the kinds of issues we want this group to confront.”
Under the theme "Ho'oulu Lahui," meaning "Regenerating Oceania," this year's Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture is being held.
First lady Jaime Kanani Green said, "This is an incredible opportunity for Hawai'i to showcase our rich cultural heritage and to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diverse traditions of the Pacific Islands. We urge kamaʻāina to gather their family and friends to take advantage of the many free events and activities that FestPAC has to offer."
The festival kicks off June 6 with opening ceremonies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
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