Although the festivity mood has rescinded, the experience encountered from July 1-14 at the Festival of Pacific Arts was something that will linger on in the minds of many forever in the Solomon Islands.
Various members of the delegates that left the country over the past several days all echoed the same sentiments,
“This was the biggest, successful 11th Festival of Pacific Arts event ever.“
In fact, a colleague of mine, Catherine Green, who is working at the National Archives Solomon Islands beautifully summed up the festival,
“There was a real buzz about the town, and lots of visitors from other countries and from the other provinces, and visiting war canoes and lots of spears and clubs and local costumes on the streets! All the performances were fantastic, and the opening and closing ceremonies were spectacular The auditorium in the museum grounds was a great success, with some fantastic local and international films showing in the first week, and music and dance and theatre performances from Solomon performers and from lots of different countries in the second week.”
The next Festival of Pacific Arts will be held in Guam in 2016.
*Photos courtesy of Catherine Green.
Island Time 