Pacific Arts Festival--Part 6

There were so many amazing sights, sounds, and stories at the Pacific Arts Festival that it would be impossible to fully describe. So here is just a small sampling of some of the images that we enjoyed. Most of these pictures were taken from the blogs of some of my friends who are FAR better photographers than I. Thanks to Alden, Jeremy, Barbara and the Browns for most of these amazing photos. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. And despite all the crap that has gone down so far in my time on the rock, I am glad I was here to experience this rich cultural event.

The things to do and see at the Festival went far beyond just performance arts...

The delegates paraded into the stadium for the closing ceremonies.

Because the Governor was off-island, the Lieutennant Governor addressed the crowd. It's always awesome to have a criminal defendant currently up on federal charges representing your island at one of the most significant events in the South Pacific.
A parade of women in white pulatasi's encircled the delegates on the field in a visual representation of the Festival's theme "threading the oceanic ula". Where the 2 ends met, a flag was passed from a representative from American Samoa to one from the Solomon Islands, who will host the 11th Festival of the Pacific Arts in 2012.

During the closing ceremonies, we were treated to a giant fireknife performance.

At the end of the closing ceremonies, there was a fireworks display. Now, remember how in my 4th of July post I said that fireworks are illegal here? That should tell you how big of a deal it was to have them for the closing ceremonies. Everyone was so excited--the mood in the stadium was electric. And although it was awesome to get to see fireworks, it wasn't with the same professional safety standards that you take for granted when you're watching the sky over Coors Field light up after the Rockies game. Imagine handing $60,000.00 worth of explosives to a 17 year old--that's pretty much the level of safety planning that took place. The fireworks were set off so close to the crowd that burning embers were falling on our heads. Only in Samoa...

Yes, in the last shot, those blurry spots are bits of ash, some burning, that were falling down on our heads. Awesome.