A fashion jewelry vendor said people found it more convenient to drop by at the Civic Center in Susupe, the previous venue.
“We had been joining the festival for several years and we understand that the economy is down, but this new location has made things worse,” the vendor said.
Another vendor said the new schedule made it harder for people to attend the festivities.
“The timing is not good because there are school graduations, the Pistang Pinoy event, a concert, and other events during the weekend,” the vendor said. The Garapan street market held on Thursday should have been moved to the festival site for one night to gather all visitors in one place, the vendor added.
In the past, the annual festival was held in April.
Not all vendors were complaining though. Some said they did better this year.
But Ann Billy who sold handmade beadwork jewelry said the economy “is really bad.”
“We used to sell the bigger pieces of beadwork at higher prices before. Now we have reduced our prices but customers still went for the smaller pieces of bracelets and necklaces which got for $10 and up,” Billy said. It’s still good that people continue to buy local products despite the hard times, she added.
Dee Clayton, a local jewelry and t-shirt designer, said she was happy that people bought her handmade earrings, bracelets and other trinkets as well sa t-shirts with local designs.
“It’s gratifying to see people liking and buying artwork that you have designed, and for this alone, it is worth being here,” Clayton said.
Mimi Maghanoy of Quilter’s Group said that they participated to showcase their products.
“We don’t make much from our handmade quilts but showing the community our talents is satisfying enough,” she said.
Maria Braray, who hails from Yap, said she visited the festival site last year and decided to join this year.
Braray displayed handmade baskets and bags woven from dried pandan leaves.
Eight food vendors and 60 artists had booths at this year’s Festival.
A nine-member delegation from New Zealand, a 36-member group from Japan as well as performers from Tinian entertained the crowd non-stop throughout the three-day festival which ended last night.
This year’s theme was “30 years of Uniting Cultures and Traditions.”
Special recognition
During the opening ceremony on Saturday morning, the Arts Council gave special recognition to individuals who contributed a lot to the development of the local arts: Balbina DLC. Taisacan, arts coordinator for Rota; Martin M. Sablan, arts coordinator for Saipan; Rolando Del Rosario, a registered visual artist; Vicente M. Muna, a Tinian musician; and Vicente S. Kaipat of the Wellipal Cultural Dancers.
