That’s the good news.
The bad news is, vendors will now have to pay double the amount of the fee for each stall.
Arts Council executive director Angel Hocog, who got his position back more than three months after Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Melvin O. Faisao did not renew him, disclosed to Variety yesterday that from $800 in the previous years, the stall rental fee is now $1,600.
He said the Arts Council is now operating fully on local funding. Its federal grantor, the National Endowment for the Arts, has yet to respond to their report after they were cited for unauthorized expenditures in the past.
Previous flame tree festivals, he said, was 40 percent federally funded.
So in order for the Arts Council to run this year’s festival without federal assistance they have to increase the fees, he added.
Hocog said this year, Arts Council will try to accomplish the festival’s real mission which is to promote CNMI and Micronesian artists. The festival should always be a cultural-oriented event, he added.
The last time the festival was held at American Memorial Park was in 2007.
Due to some issues with federal regulations and insurance policies, the Arts Council decided in 2008 to bring the festival “back to its birth place,” the Civic Center in Susupe.
But Hocog said losing access to American Memorial Park was just a result of miscommunication and this is why he tried his best to negotiate with National Parks Service officials.
Last year, Hocog said he submitted an application to use the federal park which was approved with conditions which include a ban in gambling activities.
