Flametree Festival

A week after I arrived in Saipan, the annual Flametree Festival kicked off with a speech from the governor of Saipan welcoming visitors and delegations from Guam, Rota, Yap, Palau, the Caroline Islands (to name a few) to the island. Every year, all of Micronesia is invited to Saipan to partake in five days of cultural celebration. Artists, dancers, and musicians provide the entertainment and local restaurants provide the food and drinks, setting up stands overflowing with red rice, fresh fish, satays, BBQed meats and fresh fruits/vegetables. Ramatou, an all male dance troupe from Saipan, put on the most impressive performance of the weekend: a traditional stick dance. Stomping feet accompanied the cracking of wooden staffs as the dancers moved energetically across the stage, decked out in grass skirts and headdresses. Here are a few pictures of the festivities. The trees with red flowers are flametrees (for which the festival was named) and line most of the roads throughout Saipan.