Record crowd attend ENB festivals

By ABIGAIL APINA
THE Warwagira and the 18th National Mask festivals ended on a high note on Saturday night, with the unique Baining fire dance from East New Britain.
Speaking on the last day, festivals chairman John Robin said while there were hiccups during the shows, the events ended successfully and that improvements would be made to next year’s programme.
Events manager Samson Kakai thanked the sponsors for ensuring the festivals were staged successfully.
Kakai said last year there was a record 10,000 people attending the festivals, while this year more than 18,000 people attended.
He said that was because of the location of the new showground as it was more convenient for many locals and tourists to access.
He thanked the provincial government for allocating the new showground to the committee to host the festivals.
It is understood it will now become the permanent festivals venue.
More than 100 traditional groups took part in the festivals,the organising committee expects more next year.