HUNDREDS of island residents celebrated food and fun with the opening of Taste of the Marianas at American Memorial Park in Garapan on Saturday, May 4.
This is the 25th iteration of the event, according to Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Chris Concepcion. The annual event occurs every Saturday in May and, this year, it features 26 food and three drink booths.
“We’re very pleased and excited with this amazing turnout,” Concepcion said on opening night. “[Taste of the Marianas] provides an added attraction, [and] additional activities for visitors to enjoy while they’re on Saipan.”
Concepcion said hosting Taste of the Marianas sends an important message about the CNMI’s tourism industry.
“Because of the length of this event — it’s the 25th Taste — it shows longevity, it shows commitment on behalf of our tourism industry to making sure that these types of events continue for our visitors and residents,” he said. “It tells the market that we are here, we are excited and we’re ready to go to keep these very important community events going.”
Concepcion said tourism numbers for the Chinese and Japanese markets are still “far below the number of arrivals that we need for the market to be able to grow and sustain itself.”
Hence, he added, MVA needs funding for marketing and promotion, and Taste of the Marianas and similar events play key roles in promoting CNMI tourism.
“The vast majority of our funding goes toward marketing efforts, promotions, and activities like the Taste of the Marianas,” Concepcion said. “We need to be able to do this in order to compete effectively against our regional competitors and much larger destinations with much larger budgets. We need to get enough funding from our leadership to be able to continue on with these types of events and to continue to market the CNMI on a global scale.”
Cultural performances and other entertainment marked the Taste of the Marianas’ opening night on the main stage.
On the separate north stage, Subway sponsored the Sandwich Challenge, which pitted 10 island residents against each other in a food eating contest.
The event was topped by Jeremy Rother while Bob Yu and Mike Yu finished second and third.
Rother took home a $300 gift certificate package for Subway, Foremost, Coca-Cola, and Powerade products; Bob Yu received a $200 package; and Mike Yu won a $100 package.
Each contestant was challenged to finish 15 four-inch Subway sandwiches in one hour.
Rother was the only one among the 10 contestants to fully complete the task. He was also a last-minute entry who only participated when a previously registered contestant did not show up. Rother told Variety that prior to jumping into the competition, he ate a burrito and had a beer.
With their victories Rother, Bob Yu, and Mike Yu are automatically entered in the Oh My Grill International Food Challenge, which will feature professional food eaters from Korea and Japan.
Jeremy Rother, a last-minute entry to the Subway Sandwich Challenge, raises his arms in triumph after eating 15 sandwiches.
The top three winners of the Subway Sandwich Challenge: Jeremy Rother, center, Mike Yu and Bob Yu pose for a photo with MVA and Foremost/Coca-Cola officials.
A Chamorro cultural dance group performs on opening night of Taste of the Marianas.
The Taste of the Marianas, which kicked off on May 4, is held every Saturday night this month at American Memorial Park in Garapan.
Mount Carmel School eighth graders Jeffrey “Pepero” Concepcion, left, Enzo Sasamoto and Patrick Guerrero pose for a photo at the Taste of the Marianas.
