MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION ON THE 13TH FESTIVAL OF
PACIFIC ARTS & CULTURE (FestPAC) MEETINGMONDAY, JULY 11, 2022, AT 3:00 PM
VIA VIRTUAL APPLICATION ZOOM: VIDEO / AUDIO CONFERENCE
Commission Members Present were:
Kalani Kaʻanāʻanā
Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority Designee
Maenette Ah Nee-Benham Governor’s Designee
Māpuana de Silva
Community Member At-Large Designee
Sylvia Hussey
Office of Hawaiian Affairs Designee
Jarrett Keohokālole
Senate President’s Designee
Jamie LumDepartment of Business, Economic Development andTourism (DBEDT) Designee
Richard Onishi
House Speaker’s Designee
Kehaulani PuʻuCity and County of Honolulu Designee
Guests:Danny Akaka
Mamiko Caroll
Maka Casson-Fisher
Jonathan Johnson
Lynn J. Martin Graton
Ngahiraka Mason
Monte McComber
Mālia Sanders
Kanoe Takitani-Puahi
Margo Vitarelli
Mikki-tea Tapara-Public Member
Public Member
Hawaiʻi Tourism Authoritiy
Public Member
Public Member
Public Member
Royal Hawaiian Center
Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association
Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association
Public Member
Public Member

Staff:
Elise Amemiya
Marlene Hiraoka
Timothy Tiu
Scott Tome-

Office of the Attorney General
DBEDT
DBEDT
DBEDT

Apologies:
Snowbird BentoAaron Salā-Community Member At-Large DesigneeFestival Director

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, July 11, 2022, at 3:00pm
Page 2 of 4

CALL TO ORDER
At 3:03 p.m., Chair Kalani Ka‘anā‘anā welcomed all present. Chair then conducted roll call ofCommissioners: Chair, Ms .AhNee-Benham, Ms. Hussey, Mr. Keohokālole, Ms. Lum,
Ms. de Silva, Mr. Onishi, Ms. Puʻu.
The wehena (opening) was conducted by Mr. Danny Akaka.
Mr. Onishi introduced Mr. Danny Akaka as the son of late U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka andappreciates Mr. Akaka’s support of East Hawaiʻi as well as the state, and the many blessings thatthe Akaka family has shared with Hawaiʻi. Mr. Akaka thanked Mr. Onishi and shared that hiswife Anna Akaka (who was initially scheduled to present the wehena) sends her regards.
Mr. Akaka briefly introduced the Mālama Honu the turtle program curated by the Mauna Lani
Resort in partnership with Sea Life Park, where green sea turtles have been raised and released at
the resort for over 30 years. The honu are a wonderful symbol that represent everyone coming
together, while caring for earth. He encouraged all to visit Mauna Lani and said he would be
happy to share the honu with everyone. He then presented a pule (prayer). Mr. Akaka translated
the pule shared in ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), by expressing that as we gather as one
ʻohana (family) to prepare for FestPAC, a tradition of song and dance that we need to follow theala pono (path of righteousness) forward. As Hawaiʻi prepares to invite and bring together
people from the Pacific for the celebration of indigenous people as artists, scholars, dancers andother performers of the Pacific community convene in Hawaiʻi, this event will help to perpetuate
the arts and culture of the Pacific people to preserve and revive traditional arts and culture andshare a sense of unity among the Pacific people. He asked to keep all safe, protected and healthy
as everyone overcomes the challenges from the past few years due to the global pandemic. He
asked that healing hands be placed upon everyone and that all will come together so that thespirit of aloha will be shared with all.
Chair expressed his thanks to Mr. Akaka for the grounding message shared in the wehena.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON AGENDA ITEMS
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā invited members of the public to testify on the agenda items. Hearing none, heproceeded with the rest of the agenda items.
APPROVAL OF JUNE 27, 2022, YEAR MEETING MINUTESThe June 27, 2022, minutes were distributed and reviewed by Commissioners. Chair asked if
there were any comments or changes to the minutes. Hearing none, he asked for a motion to bemade and it was made by Mr. Onishi, seconded by Ms. Ah Nee-Benham. Ms. Ah Nee-Benham
asked that a spelling correction be made by replacing the word “gap” on page 3 with “GANTT”
as the appropriate spelling. A roll call vote was requested by the following Commissioners
approving the motion to approve the minutes of June 27, 2022 with non-substantive changes:
Chair, Ms .Ah Nee-Benham, Ms. Hussey, Mr. Keohokālole, Ms. Lum, Ms. de Silva, Mr. Onishi,Ms. Puʻu all approved the June 27, 2022, minutes.
Motion to adopt the June 27, 2022, minutes, amended with one spelling correction, wasapproved.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, July 11, 2022, at 3:00pm
Page 3 of 4

REPORT ON PERMITTED INTERACTIONS, PURSUANT TO ACT 103, SESSIONLAWS OF HAWAIʻI 2021
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā reported that no committee meetings were held.
PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION REGARDING ADMINISTRATIVECOMMITTEE UPDATEAs there were no Administrative Committee meetings held, the chair moved on to the nextagenda item.
PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION REGARDING VENUES AND
PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE UPDATEAs there were no Venue and Programming Committee meetings held, the chair moved on to thenext agenda item.
PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION REGARDING THE FESTIVAL
DIRECTOR REPORT
Chair turned over this portion of the meeting to Ms. Mālia Sanders who provided the Festival
Director report from Mr. Aaron Salā via pre-recorded video from Fiji. The FD reported thatoutstanding action items discussed previously will be reported during the Commission meetingin August. He reported that he was invited to attend the Pacific Islands Forum being held in Fiji
where one session will be focused on FestPAC 2024. He commented that the forum is focusedon the design of the Blue Pacific Strategy. The FD further commented that climate change
dominates the meeting which outlines a long-term path for the region with a focus on climatechange and fostering sustainable development.
FD Salā shared the FestPAC save-the-date flyer created by a graduate of the University ofHawaiʻi, Academy of Creative Media. He also shared a digital video spot that was created by
4Miles LLC. FD, Commissioner Bento, Dr. James Viernes of the East-West Center’s PacificIslands Development Program, and a Fijian University of Hawaiʻi student all assisted with itscreation. The FD will be sharing the video during the 50th anniversary reception at the forum. Healso indicated that the reception will be attached to an exhibit that will feature FestPAC throughthe years. He will provide a summary of his participation in the forum at the next Commission
meeting.
Chair Kaʻanāʻanā asked members if there were any questions.
Ms. de Silva called attention to the artwork and that The Pacific Community’s (SPC) logo shouldbe placed on all visuals/communication pieces regarding FestPAC 2024. She mentioned that theFD may not have participated in those discussions as they occurred previous to his role as theFD, however, since the video that was just shared was produced in a rush, the SPC logo may nothave been considered at the time of production. Ms. de Silva also mentioned that all materials
must be translated into French, as well. This information was noted by staff who will follow upwith FD.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, July 11, 2022, at 3:00pm
Page 4 of 4Following the FD’s report, Chair expressed that there are several areas that requires furtherdiscussion with regards to FestPAC planning. He is concerned that plans are not moving as
quickly, and he will include these agenda items for the next Commission meeting. While themajor areas such as housing, etc. appear to be set, he feels there needs to be more movement inother planning areas. He will be discussing these matters with committee chairs in terms ofprioritizing outputs and outcomes.
Mr. Keohokālole agreed with Chair’s remarks. To be very specific, the one piece he feels ismissing is a timeline for fundraising. He requested that this topic be included on the next
Commission meeting agenda. Mr. Keohokālole also feels that if the FD needs more support toassist with fundraising and other matters, we may need to consider onboarding additional staff toassist the FD. Ms. Ah Nee-Benham, as Chair of the Admin Committee, understood the concerns
and requests.
At the suggestion of Ms. Sanders, Ms. de Silva reported on the Pacific Islands Forum that the FD
is currently attending in Fiji. Organizers invited the SPC to participate with less a month’s
notice. Included in the forum is the reception for the 50th Anniversary of the Festival of PacificArts and Culture. The intent is to launch a strategy concurrent with FestPAC and the Pacificregional cultural strategy. The SPC invited Ms. de Silva to provide closing remarks and she will
be doing so followed by the President of Fiji. She stated that this is a great opportunity andpresents good visibility for Hawaiʻi within the Pacific community. The video that the FD shared
will also be presented. Ms. de Silva read her closing remarks to Commissioners.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON AGENDA ITEMS
Chair invited the public to again offer comments. Hearing none, he moved into announcements.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chair Kaʻanāʻanā congratulated Mr. Jonathan Johnson on his retirement after 34 years of service
with the State Foundation of Culture and the Arts. Mr. Johnson expressed that he would becontinuing to support FestPAC as a volunteer as planning continues.
NEXT MEETING AUGUST 15 , 2022
The next FestPAC Commission meeting is confirmed for August 15, 2022, at 3:00 pm.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā adjourned meeting at 3:38 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,_______________________________
Kalani Kaʻanāʻanā
Chair_July 12, 2022________________________
Date