The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Choylin Yim Douglas, and Director of Culture, Denis Marita, will be traveling tomorrow ahead of the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC) set for June in Hawai’i, United States.
They will attend the 40th Council of Pacific Arts Meeting in Honolulu before the festival, and the Minister will also participate in the Pacific Tourism Ministers meeting.
Their 85-member delegation for FestPAC will depart this coming Saturday.
The FestPAC trip will cost SBD$3 million, partly funded by the Solomon Islands government and the US Government through the SPC.
“Around three-quarters of the cost (about SBD 2 million) is solely for visa processing and travel arrangements to and from Hawai’i,” Marita explained.
Unlike previous years, this year’s festival selection focused mainly on Honiara-based participants, particularly registered groups with the Ministry.
The delegation includes performing artists, visual artists, contemporary and modern music bands, weavers, carvers, culinary artists, and officials.
Marita said the Solomon Islands’ participation this year is smaller compared to past festivals due to financial constraints.
“Preparations have been challenging given the tight funding aspect for the event,” Marita said.
“The bulk of the funding is directed towards travel costs and US visas, which the national government has committed to through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism budget.
“The US government, through SPC, also supported the delegation by funding the cost of US visas for the delegation.”
Solomon Islands will participate in all events of the festival, running from June 6th to 16th.
Said Marita:
“We are looking forward to raising the Solomon Islands’ profile in Hawai’i to inform and educate festival visitors, especially US citizens, about our country and the way of life of our people.
“This is a great opportunity for us to market our arts and culture as a tourism product to the outside world, and our representation is important for our tourism industry.
“Most importantly,” the event is an opportunity to share the message of the ‘Happy Isles’ with the world.”
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