Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 8, 1 August 2020 — New Dates Announced For the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture [ARTICLE]

New Dates Announced For the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture

New dates have been announced for i the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and i Culture (FestPAC). Originally sched- : uled for June 2020 in Honolulu, the ; Festival will now be held June 6-16, I 2024. "We were looking forward to host- i ing FestPAC this year," said Senator : J. Kalani English, FestPAC Hawai'i : Commission Chairman. "Commission- ; ers are now discussing how to reaffirm ; our plans onee the pandemic subsides." | The FestPAC Hawai'i Commission ; will eonhnue to meet regularly over the ; next four years. "The postponement to 2024 | acknowledges the value of Fest-PAC | while taking into account the realities | of COVID-19," said Leituala Kuinise- ; lani Toelupe Tago-Elisara, Director ; of The Pacific Community's Social ; Development Program. "We will eon- ; tinue to work with Hawai'i as the host, ; in collaboration with Pacific countries | and territories, to determine the best ; options as we move forward." FestPAC was the first major event in ; Hawai'i to be postponed as the extent | of the pandemic grew. The early deci- ; sion was made out of an abundance | of caution for the health and safety ; of Hawai'i residents, as well as for ; visiting delegations. This new date ; maintains the four-year Festival cycle ; while maximizing the opportunity for ; delegations to participate as their own | Pacific island nations recover from the ; eeonomie and social impacts of the ; pandemic. FestPAC is the world's largest eele- ; bration of Indigenous Pacific Islanders. It was launched in 1972 by The South ] Pacific Commission (rebranded The ; Pacific Community) to halt the erosion ; of traditional practices in the region ; through ongoing cultural exchanges. ; Learn more at www.festpachawaii. ; org. ■