Gloriana Teuira
“HEALING, Bridging, Prosperity” is the 43rd Annual Flame Tree Arts Festival’s theme, Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture Director Gloriana Teuira said.
“Healing — it’s a combination of healing through all the hardships that we’ve endured, the Covid-19 pandemic, the disasters. Bridging…the gap between our diverse cultures to connect as one, and Prosperity — we always aim to be prosperous through being industrious,” Teuira added.
This year’s festival will be held from April 19 to 21 at the Garapan Fishing Base.
“It’s going to be a little different from previous years because of the high demand for performers,” Teuira said. “We’re starting on Friday, April 19, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and April 21, we will hold the program from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Pretty much at 10:30 p.m. will be the last performance.”
She added, “We have a couple of groups that have retired over the years and decided to regroup and come back this year and we’re also having all the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture performing artists on stage as their final rehearsal before flying off to ‘Fest Pac,’ ” Teuira said.
She said the opening program will honor local artists and artisans for sharing their unique talents and for helping perpetuate local culture, customs and traditions.
“Local singers Henry Manalo and Edwin Kaipat, folk artist Flowerpot Salas, traditional dancer Rosalina Ruluked and traditional weaver Pedro Matagolai are artists that have passed on, and we will be dedicating the Flame Tree Arts Festival to them,” Teuira said.
She said about 35 artists and 40 vendors are participating in this year’s festival.
“A new challenge this year is the requirement to pay a temporary license of $20. It’s a public lot…[and] at the end of the day we still adhere to the rules that were given to us,” Teuira said.
“The space at Garapan Fishing Base is a bit small for all the vendors and displays,” she added. “We are now working with the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services to give us less of the required 12 feet for spacing of the vendors and booths. We are trying to work with them to cut it to six feet so we can extend and give the artists more space,” she said.
Teuira said the Annual Flame Tree Arts Festival is an important event that perpetuates local culture, customs and traditions
“We see it even in our household — the culture is really dying,” she added. “In this millennia, the children are really into devices, and when we call them to braid something, ‘Man, why are we going to braid?’ they would say. We must keep the culture alive, to keep it going, and try to interest the children, and convince them because they are the ones who will continue it.”
For his part, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Francisco Rabauliman thanked the business community for continuously supporting a DCCA signature event.
“The members of our community and the business community always come out with open arms in supporting the annual Flame Tree Arts Festival,” he added.
Among the main sponsors for this year’s festival are Bridge Capital, Bank of Guam, and the Marianas Visitors Authority.
