HONOLULU — The state of Hawai‘i will host the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture from June 6 to 16, with the theme “Ho‘oulu Lahui: Regenerating Oceania.”
Gov. Josh Green said that hosting FestPAC for the first time in Hawai‘i, especially following the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires, would restore hope, rejuvenate society and give back to the entire state.
“I want everyone to think of FestPAC as a cross between the Olympic Games and the Merrie Monarch,” Green said Tuesday. “It’s meant to emphasize the importance of cultural exchange and collaboration between all of our nations in the Pacific.”
“We have a lot of people that have been hurting, and this is going to be a really glorious 10 days,” he said.
First lady Jaime Green called FestPAC a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hawai‘i to showcase our rich cultural heritage and foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diverse traditions throughout the Pacific islands.”
“We’ve made it a priority to ensure that the public events are free and open to everyone from June 6 to June 16,” she said.
More than 2,200 people will attend FestPAC, showcasing about 50 festival events, including the opening and closing ceremonies, heritage dance and contemporary music performances, Festival Village, heritage arts demonstrations and visual arts exhibits.
FestPAC, in partnership with the University of Hawai‘i, the East-West Center and several hotels around Waikiki, will house the delegates.
Festival programs will be held islandwide, with the main hub at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Other locations include Kualoa Regional Park for a “Wa‘a Canoe Arrival Ceremony,” the University of Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center for “Ekalesia: Ecumenical Service” and the Bishop Museum for carvers and tattoo practitioners.
The quadrennial event, inaugurated in 1972 and hosted in the Republic of Fiji, originally did not include Hawai‘i as a delegate.
“When they started it originally, it was for island nations that were looking to promote traditional and cultural practices,” FestPAC commissioner and kumu hula Snowbird Bento said. “They could see in their younger people that the practices were beginning to dwindle.”
“At the time, Hawai‘i was not seen to be grossly connected to our culture.”
The following event, which New Zealand hosted in 1976, invited Hawai‘i to only watch, observe and learn before it could participate in future events.
The group representing Hawai‘i that traveled to New Zealand was led by kumu hula Edith Kanaka‘ole and her Halau o Kekuhi.
“Her daughters are part of the hula opening and closing protocols, and so they’re carrying on mama’s tradition,” Bento said. “Shortly thereafter the people could see that Hawai‘i still has that strong connection to tradition, so then Hawai‘i was invited to become an official delegate of this event.”
After 52 years, Gov. Green said, “Hawai‘i is ready to actually host this festival.”
Hawai‘i was scheduled to host FestPAC in 2020 following Guam’s turn, but the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council of Pacific Arts and Culture rescheduled Hawai‘i’s hosting to 2024.
The FestPAC delegation includes representatives from 28 Pacific islands and territories: American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Easter Island, The Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawai‘i, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Island, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and Taiwan.
The 2024 FestPAC was initially set to be the first festival with participation from all 28 delegations, but two regions withdrew their participation last week.
“Vanuatu had an economic collapse, and New Caledonia is going through major political unrest,” Bento said. “So they both officially withdrew from participation.”
While Papua New Guinea is currently facing a crisis due to a landslide that killed more than 2,000 people, Green hopes the island nation will still participate in the Hawai‘i FestPAC.
Hawai‘i is expecting 151 delegates from Papua New Guinea: 100 artistic delegates, 50 self-funded delegates and one VIP delegate.
Green sent out “heartfelt concern” to Papua New Guinea and said that the state is working on a plan “to be supportive of the nation sometime in the near future.”
“This is often referred to by State Department people as a positive way to bring people together and to avoid conflict,” Green said. “They can choose to be together here in Hawai‘i.”
According to the director of the 13th FestPAC, Aaron Sala, the U.S. State Department, in collaboration with Pacific embassies, ambassadors and consul general offices, facilitated visa acquisition for hundreds of Pacific Islanders traveling from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji, among others.
“We want for everyone to come and experience this incredible opportunity,” Sala said. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime engagement for Hawai‘i and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Pacific to engage here in this way.”
