MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION ON THE 13TH FESTIVAL OF
PACIFIC ARTS & CULTURE (FestPAC) MEETINGMONDAY, APRIIL 19, 2021 AT 2:30 PM
VIA VIRTUAL APPLICATION ZOOM: VIDEO / AUDIO CONFERENCE
Commission Members Present were:
Kalani Ka‘anā‘anā, Chair
Snowbird Bento
Māpuana de Silva-Jamie Lum-Richard Onishi
Makanani Salā
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu-Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) Designee
Community Member At-Large (Departed at 3:02p.m.)
Community Member At-Large (Arrived at 2:34p.m.)
Department of Business, Economic Developmentand Tourism (DBEDT)House Speaker’s Designee (Arrived at 2:36 p.m.)City and County of Honolulu Designee
Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Designee

Jackie Lynne Burke
Maka Casson-Fisher
Ilihia Gionson
Dede Howa
June MatsumotoMonte McComber
Aaron Sala-

Public Member
Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA)
Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association
Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA)
Public Member
Public Member
University of Hawaiʻi/Royal Hawaiian Center

Margaret Ahn
Marlene Hiraoka
Selma Malcolm
Timothy Tiu-Deputy Attorney General
DBEDT
DBEDT
DBEDT

-

Senate President’s Designee

Guests:Staff:

Apologies:
Jarrett Keohokālole

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, April 19, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 2 of 7

CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chair Kalani Ka‘anā‘anā at 2:31 p.m., who welcomed
everyone present via ZOOM and Facebook Live.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā called upon Ms. Wong-Kalu to do the wehena (opening).
PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON AGENDA ITEMS
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā invited members of the public to testify on the agenda items. Hearing none, hecontinued with agenda items.
APPROVAL OF APRIL 5, 2021 MEETING MINUTES
The minutes were distributed and reviewed by Commissioners. Chair Ka‘anā‘anā asked if there
were any corrections to the minutes.
Hearing none, a motion was made by Ms. Lum and seconded by Ms. Bento to adopt the minutesunamended.
A roll call vote was requested with the following Commissioners approving the motion toapprove the minutes: Chair Ka‘anā‘anā, Ms. de Silva, Ms. Bento, Rep. Onishi, Ms. Lum, Ms.
Wong-Kalu, Ms. Salā.
Motion was unanimously approved.
LEGISLATIONChair Ka‘anā‘anā shared a summary about Senate Bill 696 which would extend the life of theCommission until August 31, 2025 and permits commission members to discuss matters outsideof a public meeting to perform their duties.
Ms. Lum reported that the Conference Committee met and a CD1 that corrects the flawed date
will need to be approved by the Finance Committee. The Conference Committee will bereconvening on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā expressed that, hopefully, the CD1 will be approved with the sunset datecorrected to August 31, 2025. In addition, language proposed by the Office of Information
Practices (OIP) will be included in the draft which will state that, at the most, four Commission
Members may meet privately provided that their discussion topics are presented at a Commission
meeting on a monthly basis.
DISCUSSION AND ADOPTION OF REVISED PROGRAM MATRIXChair Ka‘anā‘anā turned over this portion of the agenda to Ms. Bento and Mr. Gionson.
Ms. Bento expressed her thanks to Ms. Salā for reading the report at the last Commission
meeting, on her behalf. Ms. Bento expressed that she would like the big bucket items to bebrought to a final vote.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, April 19, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 3 of 7

Ms. Bento mentioned that she reviewed minutes from November 10, 2020, that indicated theprogram (offering and scheduling) was to be finalized; however, it appears that the programming
was never finalized at that time. In addition, during the December 1, 2020, Commission
meeting, a final vote on programming was not made at that time as well. Hence, those bucket
items were up for discussion when Ms. Bento and her sub-committee met.
Ms. Bento indicated that she would like to stick to the themed pillars that the Festival was
initially built upon. Mr. Gionson shared the diagram with the comparisons of the original andrevised bucket categories. Ms. Bento stated that she also reviewed the minutes and video of thelast Commission meeting.
Ms. Bento expressed that her subcommittee would like the approval of the big bucket categories.
They are not looking at discrete, detailed descriptions. She asked Commission members if thiswould allow her and her sub-committee to move forward to further develop programming
descriptions. She commented that at this point, with the approval of the big buckets, theCommission may be able to begin securing financing and developing an overall budget.
Ms. Bento further stated that since the original buckets were never approved, her sub-committee
developed new buckets. If there are categories that may have been omitted, it is because her subcommittee focused upon what types of specific descriptions would likely fit into the big buckets.
Ms. Bento asked for comments from Commission members. She emphasized, however, that thecomments and discussion did not have to be detailed. She also asked Chair Ka‘anā‘anā if there
is a calendar, or a deadline for when he would like the more discrete/detailed buckets to becompleted.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā expressed that his recommendations would be to take a vote on the big bucket
items so that it would not need to be revisited again. There is a need to move forward on themore discrete items that would fall into the big bucket categories. Country delegations will thenprovide their feedback on areas that they would be participating in.
Rep. Onishi asked for clarification as to whether the big buckets were from originally discussed
categories. Hearing confirmation, Rep. Onishi made a motion to approve the big bucket
categories and Ms. de Silva seconded the motion.
Ms. de Silva complemented Ms. Bento and her sub-committee for reviewing programming ofpast Festivals. She also expressed her appreciation to the sub-committee for its intention to craft“old” but “new” bucket categories.
A roll call vote was requested with the following Commissioners approving the motion toapprove the big buckets: Chair Ka‘anā‘anā, Ms. de Silva, Ms. Bento, Rep. Onishi, Ms. Lum,Ms. Wong-Kalu, Ms. Salā.
Motion was unanimously approved.
DISCUSSION OF FORMATION OF SUB-COMMITTEESMinutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, April 19, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 4 of 7

Chair Ka‘anā‘anā explained that he added this item to the agenda because it was somewhat
related to the next agenda item regarding the Festival Manual and Guam’s After Action Report.
Chair commented that he would like recommendations to be made for sub-committees. For his
areas of responsibility pertaining to fundraising and Opening and Closing ceremonies, he and his
sub-committee would be able to plan and execute details for those specific areas.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā asked for comments/discussion related to sub-committees.
Chair explained that for the area of public relations and communications, although theCommission retained Strategies 360 in the past, he will now be requesting assistance from staff
at HTA and NAHAA including from HTA’s in-house publicist, Ms. Marissa Yamane. With
respect to the area of fundraising, Chair will need to have a discussion with Ms. Lum regarding
the drafting of a Request for Information (RFI). The RFI will guide the Commission in its
approach to fundraising and other development work.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā explained that the Opening and Closing ceremonies are currently on hold at
the moment because he will need to identify venues. He commented that venue representatives
will eventually be participants of his sub-committee. He also expressed that as the date of theFestival approaches, additional team members will be asked to join his sub-committee.
Chair asked Commissioners for any comments regarding sub-committees. Ms. Lum commented
that in looking at her/DBEDT’s kuleana, much of the work will be handled by in-house DBEDT
staff. She indicated, however, that it also would depend upon any State funding and other types
of fundraising that may occur in the future. At the moment, she will be relying upon in-housestaffing and is also interested in reaching out to Mr. Jonathan Johnson at the State Foundation on
Culture and the Arts (SFCA) regarding event planning that their organization has done in thepast. She also commented on seeking advice from Ms. Salā’s office related to the procurementof goods and services for events.
Ms. Salā expressed that she would like to confirm the location of the Festival Village. Herquestions and concerns are related to securing the venue, providing 24-security for the durationof the 10-day Festival, etc. Chair Ka‘anā‘anā expressed that he would like everyone to review
and use the venue form to make suggestions. He stated that he will be completing forms for
Iolani Palace and Kapiolani Park for the Opening and Closing ceremonies. He also confirmedthat many events will be held at the Hawaii Convention Center since funding has already been
secured for this purpose. He further stated that the Convention Center has ample space forexhibitions, symposia, display areas for art, etc.
Rep. Onishi shared that since Commissioner English stepped down as a Commissioner, he andSen. Keohokālole have not had an opportunity to meet due to time constraints because of theLegislation Session. They will plan on meeting after the Session.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, April 19, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 5 of 7

DISCUSSION OF FESTIVAL MANUAL AND 12TH FESTIVAL (GUAM) AFTERACTION REPORT
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā reminded Commissioners that the FestPAC Manual and Guam After Action
Report were distributed for their information and review. He indicated that the Manual would
need to be reviewed to determine if it will work for Hawaiʻi or whether it needed to be updated.
Hawaiʻi will have issues pertaining to border control, agricultural related matters, etc. and thatthe nature and layers of government regulations in Hawaiʻi differ from those of the PacificIslands.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā commented that a Festival Director has not yet been appointed. Ms Salāagreed that this is a concern and asked who will fill that role. Ms. Bento expressed thatCommissioners should nominate individuals for the position. Chair asked for comments andexpressed that the current difficulty is that the Commission does not have funding to staff thisposition. He further commented that a Festival Director is needed because when there are noclear lines of responsibility, the planning and coordination of an event such as FestPAC becomeschallenging. He is aware that this is a full-time position that will be required, at least, from twoyears out before the Festival is held. Chair also reminded Commissioners that budget items andfunding needed to be prioritized including grant writing, etc. He emphasized that there areholistic considerations for the Festival including human resources, public relations, safety,security, etc. Without a full-time director, there is a greater chance that details will fall throughthe cracks as the event approaches.
Ms. Lum agreed that there is a need to retain a full-time Director two years out and that it needed
to be a compensated position. She suggested that another option to consider would be to financethis position within the sponsorship area similar to how other non-profit organizations fund an
Executive Director by having sponsor’s staff on loan for the duration of the planning andimplementation of an event.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā suggested exploring AmeriCorps VISTA requirements, too. He alsomentioned engaging youth in the planning process.
Ms. de Silva provided historical information in that the position of Festival Director is usually agovernmental position. The individual is employed by the government and paid by thegovernment. Ms. de Silva noted that in other countries, the Festival Director would haveexisting relationships and contacts in place. She wondered if there is an individual in Hawaiʻi
who might be able to assume that role.
Rep. Onishi expressed that the Commission needs to review the overall budget again. He
suggested developing a couple of operational budgets to determine amounts that needed to beallocated for specific areas. He mentioned that even for fundraising, the Commission does nothave a current target goal. Ms. de Silva believes that there needs to be governmentrepresentation. Rep. Onishi commented that it would behoove the Commission to look atDBEDT to explore the possibility of securing an appropriation for a Festival Director, as anexcluded position, through DBEDT, because the State of Hawaiʻi, as the host, needs to ensurethat the Festival succeeds. He further stated that the Commission should not seek a contractor
for this role because if there are relationship and other problems that surface, at the end of theMinutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, April 19, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 6 of 7day, it is still the State of Hawaii that would be responsible for the event. Rep. Onishi alsocommented that we normally would not approach developing a position for this purpose,
however, the State would not normally host this type of event so there needs to be anunderstanding that it would be important to consider an appropriation for the position of FestivalDirector.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā stated that he would develop an overall budget before the next meeting to give
the Commission a starting point. He also would like to add to the next meeting agenda,
information about the ANA grant application for the Festival and the possibility of working with
AmeriCorps VISTA. He will also meet with the East-West Center to see if there might be U.S.
State Department resources available to assist the Commission. Chair also would like the State
Foundation of Culture and Arts (SFCA) to do a presentation to the Commission so that
Commissioners would have a better understanding of their programs and determine if the SFCA
might be able to provide support with grant writing and administration.
Ms. de Silva explained that the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) solicitation is openand that a training session will be held next week. The deadline to apply is late June or earlyJuly.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā asked Mr. McComber about his interactions with Council of Pacific Arts andCulture (CPAC) and Youth Ambassador programs and whether he might be able to obtain alisting of the heads of delegations through his involvement with those programs. Ms. de Silva
commented that it would not be possible until new FestPAC invitations are sent to countries.
She further explained that many representatives on the Council are heads of their respectivedelegations. The country point-of-contacts would be the appropriate individuals to request forsuch a listing.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā further explained that he was interested in receiving a listing of the heads ofdelegations to determine if the Commission should invite delegations to make a country
presentation to the Commission. It would be helpful for Commissioners to gain a better
understanding of each country, their culture, etc. Ms. de Silva stated that it would be best towork through the point-of-contacts for these types of requests. She mentioned that The PacificCommunity (SPC) recently published a guide on etiquette across the Pacific which is a good
resource to gain an understanding of country protocols, values, how they think, etc. She will
forward a copy to Ms. Sanders and Mr. Casson-Fisher. Chair Ka‘anā‘anā expressed that hewould like to nurture communication between countries and the Commission. Ms. de Silva
indicated that she would be able to develop a schedule for the next couple of years, however, thebiggest difficulty is getting countries to respond to emails. Most will wait until the last minute torespond with comments/decisions. She agreed that having personal contacts might help
countries to respond to the Commission’s requests in a timely matter.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON AGENDA ITEMS
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā invited the public to again offer comments.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, April 19, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 7 of 7Ms. Ahn reminded Commissioners that they should leave their cameras on during the meeting.
If a Commissioner needs to leave the meeting, they should make an announcement so that thepublic will know that the Commissioner has left the meeting.
NEXT MEETING
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā confirmed that the next meeting will be held on May 3, 2021, at 2:30 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā made an announcement for the “Hawaiian Airlines May Day: Mākaʻikaʻi2021” event, which is supported by HTA. He mentioned that the event will feature Hālau
Mōhala ʻIlima and other performances by notable artists. The event will be broadcast live onMay 1st on KGMB, Facebook Live and KFVE. He reminded folks to wear a lei, make a lei, andgive a lei on May Day.
Ms. Salā mentioned that the City and County of Honolulu will be attempting to make the longest
lei and beat India’s record. The City and County of Honolulu is also a sponsor of the “HawaiianAirlines May Day: Mākaʻikaʻi 2021” event.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā adjourned meeting at 3:16 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

04/30/2021
Kalani Ka‘anā‘anā
ChairDate