Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands (NMI) – Hungry and thirsty patrons will have more time to revel this weekend at the 25^th Annual Taste of The Marianas International Food Festival, which will run until 11 p.m. on its final night on Saturday (May 25).

The festival will open at 5 p.m. at American Memorial Park in Garapan. Entertainment for the night on the main stage will largely highlight indigenous Chamorro and Carolinian performances: Festival of Pacific Arts (FESTPAC) Northern Marianas Band at 5 p.m., FESTPAC Northern Marianas group performance at 6:25 p.m., Talabwogh Women at 6:40 p.m., Uralii at 7 p.m., Talabwogh Men at 7:15 p.m., South Korea performers at 7:30 p.m., announcements at 8 p.m., Guam i Napu at 8:30 p.m., Simiyan Marianas at 9 p.m., FESTPAC Northern Marianas group at 9:30 p.m., and FESTPAC Northern Marianas Band at 9:45 p.m.

The HANMI-NMTech Pastry Chef Competition will start at 6 p.m.

Last Saturday’s (May 18) the duo of Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan Executive Sous Chef Zenn Tomokane and Chef Louie Santos bested eight other teams to serve up the best rib eye steak in the Marianas Chef Competition. Incorporating mangos, bananas, coconut, cucumber, hot pepper and other local produce from a mystery basket unveiled before the competition started, Tomokane was deemed the best overall for taste, presentation, creativity, execution, use of ingredients, balance, cleanliness, and overall impression. First place garnered him a $500 shopping spree at Twins Market. In second place were Micheal Alovera and Cory Lee, winning a $300 gift certificate, and in 3^rd place was Antonio Agulto and Vincent Cabrera, winning a $200 gift certificate.

“The Marianas Chef Competition was an exhilarating one hour of creativity and craft, with some very interesting and tasty dishes from the chefs,” said MVA Managing Director Christopher A. Concepcion. “Every year, the Taste of The Marianas provides an opportunity for our contestants and our food and drink vendors to serve up their best and most popular items for others to enjoy. If you have not yet been, don’t miss this final opportunity this Saturday for a culinary adventure at ‘Taste.”

Concepcion also thanked the various government agencies who partnered with the MVA to make Taste possible this year: Coastal Resources Management, Bureau of Environmental Health, Alcohol Beverage & Tobacco Control, Dept. of Fire & Emergency Management, Dept. of Public Safety, Dept. of Lands & Natural Resources Div. of Parks & Recreation, Saipan Zoning Office, and Commonwealth Utilities Corp.

Taste of The Marianas features dishes from 29 local hotels and restaurants, live entertainment, food eating competitions, cooking contests, arts and crafts sales, and more. Food and drink vendors accept credit/debit cards. Tokens are also accepted and may be purchased at the festival or the Marianas Visitors Authority office at 3366 Beach Road, Garapan, Saipan, from 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Cash transactions with vendors is prohibited.

This year’s festival eateries include 38 Mitsubachi, Cup Bab Korean Restaurant, Ben-Ki, Yaya’s Baked Goods, CK Smokehouse and Salad, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, Fork and Spoon, Great Harvest Bread Co., Herman’s Modern Bakery, Lanlan Tea House, Island Grindz, Java Joe’s, Kanto 10, Kinpachi, Loco & Taco, Tupu Cane Juice, New Matty’s BBQ, Oh My Grill, Surf Club, T-Bar, The Hut, Vi- Lyn’s BBQ, Saipan World Resort, Ever Trust 123 Food, Pacific Islands Club Saipan (May 25), MARPAC, Napu Brewing, and WSTCO.

Festival Gold Sponsors are American Memorial Park, Bridge Capital LLC and Dave Electronics Center. Silver Sponsors are Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, EST Rental, IT&E, HANMI, Jonny’s Bar and Grill, M&C LLC, Lanlan Tea House, Subway, Coca-Cola, and Foremost.

For more information, contact MVA Community Projects Specialist Ray Villagomez at rvillagomez@mymarians.com or at 1.670.664.3200.

related stories

• Int’l teams at Taste of the Marianas Food Challenge
• Marianas Chef Competition highlights rib eye May 18