Festival to be revived

 THE once-famous Malagan Festival of New Ireland is being revived after a 20-year hiatus to coincide with Papua New Guinea’s 40 independence anniversary in September.

The Kavieng District Development Authority, under the chairmanship of MP Ben Micah, is spearheading the revival of the event.

Well-known PNG and Australian TV personality Tania Nugent and University of PNG lecturer Motsy David, have been engaged to work with the local people to organise the event.

It will be known as the Malagan Kalsa and Musik Festival.

“It’s basically the child of the Malagan Show, a 150-year-old event which was staged pre-World War 11,” Nugent told The National in Kavieng.

“It will be a four-day event, staged over the independence anniversary period beginning on Sept 16.

“It will be multi-venue, multi-disciplinary where we will have music, contemporary traditional style strong bands and bamboo band, spiritual, choirs.

“We’ll also feature, of course, very heavily, the traditional practices, singsings, dances, costumes, particularly from New Ireland province, because this is the host, this is the home.

“The many Papua New Guineans from other provinces who live here will also have an opportunity to represent their places.

“Within the programme also, we plan to have workshops and demonstrations around traditional crafts and art practices like weaving and carving.

“You can come witness, experience it, try it, buy some products as well.

“We will also have a speaking programme where people can come and share ideas, and pass on knowledge, around important things: climate change, loss of our languages, art of story-telling and poetry.

“The spoken word is very powerful in Papua New Guinea where we are orators.”