Hawaii is slated to host the 13th Festival of the Pacific Arts & Culture in June 2024 for the first time, after the COVID-19 pandemic put the quadrennial event on hold for nearly four years.
The 10-day festival, which will run from June 6-16, will include delegations from 28 Pacific island nations who will participate in programs and events at the Hawai‘i Convention Center and other locations throughout Oahu.
“Hawaii will truly host world-class artisans and cultural experts from all over the world,” said Kalani Ka‘ana‘ana, the chairperson of the temporary commission of the 13th FestPAC. “Whether it’s modern dance, traditional dance, poetry, film, fashion, weaving, carving, shell work, leather work, you name it. They’re going to bring the best that their country has to offer.”
The inaugural FestPAC was held in 1972 and has been organized every four years in collaboration with the Pacific Community and the Council of Pacific Arts and Culture. It is a free event that is open to the public, and has served as a venue for cultural conservation and revitalization, creativity and innovation, and cultural diplomacy for communities of the Pacific, according to the organizers.
The festival is expected to host over 3,500 delegates from participating countries, which include American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Easter Island, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and Taiwan.
The majority of the festival’s events and programs are scheduled for the convention center, where a festival village will be built for cultural demonstrations from the various delegations. The surrounding conference rooms will feature literary or visual exhibits, said Aaron Sala, the 13th FestPAC’s festival director.
While an itinerary is still being finalized, discussion topics are expected to focus on issues facing Pacific communities such as climate change, health and sustainable sea transport, said Sala.
To expand access to festival events for Hawaii residents and visitors, some are scheduled for outside the convention center, including at the Bishop Museum, Iolani Palace, Polynesian Cultural Center and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
“We want to make sure that the community has access to performing groups, and hope that garners enough interest that residents and visitors alike will desire to see what we’re doing,” Sala said.
Ka‘ana‘ana also spoke of the valuable perspectives Hawaii has to offer as host next year as a particularly diverse community. He hopes the festival will facilitate opportunities for youth and adults to learn about one another so that cultural knowledge and traditions are passed onto future generations
“I hope at least during the 10 days of the festival that our local families can really be a part of something that I think those in the Pacific know very well and is very popular,” Ka‘ana‘ana said. “This really is sort of a momentous fathering.”
Festival updates will be posted onto the 13th FestPAC’s website at festpac hawaii.org. While all events are expected to be free, some will require registration due to space constraints.
Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
