WINNING first place and the prize of $5,000 in the annual float competition made the 79th Liberation Day Parade on Friday especially memorable for the Municipality of Tinian.
Their float featured a roasting station with a whole cow, statues of Chief Taga, a sali (bird) and donne’ (hot pepper) as well as cultural dancers.
Taking second place was the Office of the Mayor of Rota, whose float also included a roasting station — this time with a whole pig. The Rota delegation’s float showcased various Chamorro cultural elements, such as a live ayuyu (coconut crab), a thatched hut, and more.
In third place was the Young Gunz Motorcycle Club float featuring a motorcycle model made entirely of woven palm leaves.
Nineteen floats participated in the parade.
Hundreds of island residents lined up on Beach Road to witness the floats, marching units, car clubs, and other participants along the new parade route, which started at the Quartermaster Road intersection and headed south to the Minachom Atdao Pavilion.
The theme of this year’s Liberation Day was “Weaving Heritage and Embracing Peace,” and the parade grand marshal was Triple J founder Bob Jones.
Reflections from participants
Speaking about his municipality’s win, Huk Borja, one of the cultural performers on the Tinian float, shared how proud he felt to represent his island.
“We were trying to find what’s unique to Tinian, so there’s the sali, there’s the donne’, and we have the statue of Taga,” he said.
Mayor Edwin P. Aldan of Tinian said Saipan Mayor Ramon Blas “RB” Camacho invited their team to participate as early as January this year.
“We started playing around with what we were going to bring over. Most of our events are culture-driven, so we brought our donne’, brought our Taga — and of course, Tinian has the most beef in the Marianas, so here we go,” Aldan said.
Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog praised her team’s effort.
“The amazing team here representing the Municipality of Rota worked so hard to gather their ideas and meet the criteria supporting this year’s theme,” she said. “Win or lose, we’re just happy to be a part of this great program. I really want to give a shoutout to the Honorable Mayor RB Camacho and his incredible team for putting such a great program together. We’re just so glad to have representation from all three islands and see the beautiful turnout of people here representing our great Commonwealth.”
A unified effort
Camacho said it was “overwhelming” to see the community come together for the Liberation Day celebration, which commemorates the permanent closure of civilian internment camps on Saipan on July 4, 1946 when indigenous Chamorros and Carolinians were allowed to fully return to their land and lives following World War II.
“This was a pretty good turnout,” Camacho said. “A lot of people came out, and many different ethnic communities participated in this Liberation Day [event],” he added.
“We have this unified mayors group now, and we’re very strong. We continue to help each other.”
Island residents pose with the Tinian Mayor’s Office float, which won the 2025 Liberation Day parade float competition on Friday, July 4, 2025.
The Department of Corrections participated in the 2025 Liberation Day Parade.
Parade Grand Marshal Bob Jones
The Tinian parade float was the center of attention.
The Rota municipal government’s float at the 2025 Liberation Day Parade.
Residents watch the parade pass by on Beach Road in San Jose. The new parade route began at Quartermaster Road and proceeded to the Civic Center area.
The Young Gunz Motorcycle Club’s float featured a motorcycle model made of woven palm leaves and bamboo.
Rota residents and their mayor, Aubry Hocog, pose for a group photo aboard their float.
