The event will start at 1 p.m. on Feb. 19 and will kick off with the judging of booths to be followed by the announcement of booth winners.
Saturday afternoon is slated for beach volleyball elimination round, cultural dances, special performances of the Tinian Junior High School JROTC and Saipan’s “Hapi the Clown.”
At 5 p.m., the hot pepper eating contest for female category will start. Guests will be treated to more cultural dances and band performances of Darlene Aldan & Co. up to 10 p.m.
On Feb. 20, vendor booths will be opened at 10 a.m. to start the day’s festivities. The Estofao Pika Contest and a presentation by the Saipan Awao-dori Dance team is scheduled at 10:30 p.m.
At 12 noon, the dragon boat race will take place, to be followed by the championship game for the beach volleyball. All throughout the afternoon, visitors and locals will be entertained by continuous performances from Tinian Manhoben Singers, Tinian Elementary School students, and cultural dancers from the Tao Tao Tano Dance Academy.
At 5 p.m., the hot pepper eating contest for males will take place, to be followed by the performance of local artist Parker Yobei and an on-the-spot chacha dance contest.
The 8th annual Tinian Hot Pepper Festival will be held at Tachogna Beach.
The festival is expected to draw lots of visitors from neighboring islands and give tourists a chance to experience a weekend of food, arts and crafts, and island style entertainment inspired by “donni sali,” Tinian’s internationally famous spicy pepper.
For more information, contact the Marianas Visitors Authority Tinian office at 433-9365 or e-mail [email protected].
