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Visitors Bureau gearing up for Oct “Month of Moso’oi” celebration

American Samoa Visitors Bureau poster
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The American Samoa Visitors Bureau (ASVB) and its partners are gearing up for the “Month of Moso’oi” celebration in October, with the public — especially students and teachers — invited for the first week of scheduled events.

ASVB calls on the community to join them and their partners “during Week 1, as we ‘Explore, Experience, and Enjoy’ what American Samoa has to offer through native storytelling, traditional/ contemporary arts and crafts, workshop booths, and so much more.”

Late last month ASVB executive director, Taimalelagi Minnie Tuia wrote to local Education director, Talauega Dr. Samasoni Asaeli seeking “support to encourage our teachers and students to ‘Explore, Experience, and Enjoy’ our very own traditional arts during the Month of Moso’oi” in October.

ASVB in partnership with the Office of the Arts Council, the Territorial Administration on Aging, ASCC Land Grant and the ASG Agriculture Department is coordinating a “unique educational experience for our students to learn from the master artists themselves in the same format our traditional arts and practices have been passed down from generation to generation,” Taimalelagi wrote.

And the event will take place at the Office of the Arts Council in Fagatogo, and will include events at Sogelau Park (next to the main dock) on Oct. 03 and Oct. 04 from 8a.m. to 4p.m.

Taimalelagi encourage teachers to contact Sandra Lutu with ASVB at 633-9805 to confirm participation and reserve the time slot and traditional art of interest for their class. She explained that the various traditional arts available include weaving, carving, elei, as well as coconut oil making with the “unique scent of the moso’oi bloom,” traditional tattoo and more.

In addition, ASVB invites the island community to the Moso’oi Farm Fair coordinated by ASG-DOA at Su’igaula o le Atuvasa Park in Utulei from Oct. 05 to Oct. 07.

The farm fair will feature booths showcasing local farmers, partner agencies, delicious island food, wood carving, traditional tattooing, arts, and Samoan handicraft, according to an ASVB promotional poster on its Facebook page.

Another celebration next month, is the Amerika Samoa’s Moso’oi Festival of the Arts, as presented by the Agency for Better Living Endeavors (A.B.L.E.), a growing group of renowned and talented artists led by A.B.L.E. Board member Ammon Fepuleai. (See Samoa News edition Sept. 16 for details.)

MOSO’OI CULTURAL FESTIVITIES HIGHLIGHTED LAST MONTH

U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor at the Moso’oi Cultural Festivities at the Suigaula o le Atuvasa Park in Utulei during her August visit to American Samoa at the start of her first tour of the insular areas, according to an ASG press release.

She is currently in Guam where she announced yesterday that $15 million in funding for climate change technical assistance will be made available under the Inflation Reduction Act for American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. 

The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic and transformational investment toward achieving President Biden’s ambitious goals to tackle the climate crisis while lowering costs for working families and creating good-paying jobs,  according to a DOI press release.

[ASG photo]