MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION ON THE 13TH FESTIVAL OF
PACIFIC ARTS & CULTURE (FestPAC) MEETINGMONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021 AT 2:30PM
VIA VIRTUAL APPLICATION ZOOM: VIDEO / AUDIO CONFERENCE
Commission Members Present were:
Kalani Ka‘anā‘anā, Chair
Snowbird Bento
Māpuana de Silva
Jarrett Keohokālole
Jamie Lum-

Monte McComber
Makanani Salā
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu-

Jacob Aki-

Jackie Burke
Mamiko Carroll
Maka Casson-Fisher
Cross Crabbe
Dede Howa
Lynn Martin Graton
June Matsumoto
Malia Sanders-Director of Communications, Hawai‘i StateSenate
Public MemberHawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture & the Arts
Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA)
Legislative Staff Rep. Gates
Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA)
Public Member
Public Member
Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association

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

House Speaker’s Designee

Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) Designee
Community Member At-Large
Community Member At-Large
Senate President’s Designee
Department of Business, Economic Development
and Tourism (DBEDT)
Governor’s Designee
City and County of Honolulu Designee
Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Designee

Guests:Staff:

Apologies:
Richard Onishi

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 2 of 5

CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chair Ka‘anā‘anā at 2:31 p.m., who welcomed everyonepresent via ZOOM and Facebook Live.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā called upon Ms. Snowbird Bento 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 FEBRUARY 8, 2021 MEETING MINUTES
The minutes were distributed and reviewed by Commissioners. A motion to approve was madeby Mr. McComber and seconded by Ms. Bento.
Discussion held with Ms. de Silva pointing out that the pagination needed to be corrected.
A roll call vote was requested with the following Commissioners approving the motion toapprove the minutes with technical no substantive changes to correct the pagination: ChairKa‘anā‘anā, Ms. Bento, Ms. De Silva, Mr. Keohokālole, Ms. Lum, Mr. McComber, Ms. Salā,Ms. Wong-Kalu.
Motion was unanimously approved as corrected.
FINANCIAL REPORT
There were no transactions since the last meeting and no updated report was needed. Ms. Lumwill work on updated financial reporting templates.
COUNCIL FOR PACIFIC ARTS AND CULTURE (CPAC) UPDATE
Mr. McComber reported that there were no additional CPAC updates to report. He mentionedthat the period to respond to the RFP related to FestPAC models review has closed and thatseveral submissions were received. Waiting for CPAC to give final endorsement before thisinformation can be shared.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā asked a question regarding the Working Group (WG) meeting thisWednesday. Mr. McComber indicated that there are several meetings taking place. The WG
meeting may be rescheduled. Mr. McComber will follow-up with Chair Ka‘anā‘anā directly asthe Chair has expressed an interest in joining the meeting also.
No information was shared or presented regarding the Youth Ambassador Sub-Working Group(SWG).

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 3 of 5

FESTIVAL PROGRAM – OFFERINGS, SCHEDULES, AND OTHER LOGISTICS
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā stated that the Festival program and activities offered are extremely important
to be finalized first before venues are decided upon, giving consideration to logistical and otherrequirements. Chair requested that Ms. Bento provide an update.
Ms. Bento apologized for missing prior Commission meetings due to work-related obligations.
She reported that we have worked out the finishing touches regarding we wanted to offer. Finaldecisions regarding offerings of symposiums, panel discussions, forums, workshops, etc. stillneed to be made. Ms. Bento indicated that she has not contacted venues from the 2020 list. Sheis considering a deadline for getting the programming set that could include topics such as
climate change and revitilization and how it is affecting the Pacific. Other ideas include hownations will overcome challenges post-pandemic by using indigenous and kūpuna (elders)wisdom to bridge gaps and move forward.
Ms. de Silva requested that Ms. Bento forward a list or matrix of programming that is being
proposed. Ms. Bento indicated that she will forward the programming content to staff who willsend it to Commissioners.
FESTIVAL VENUES UPDATE
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā wants to be sure that programming is finalized before venues are selected. Hereported that Mr. Gionson is developing a template to understand specifications of each venue
such as security, traffic consideration, size of venue, etc. The same template also could be
forwarded to the delegations who will likely have similar questions regarding venues.
LEGISLATION
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā reported that the HB 625 died and that the only vehicle that is currently going
through the Legislature is SB 696 SD1, which is scheduled for decision-making on February 23,2021 at 9:45 a.m. This bill would extend the life of the Commission through August 2025. Italso will allow flexibility regarding Chapter 92. Discussions have been held with the Office ofInformation Practices (OIP) who offered amendments and suggestions to the committee.
OIP has suggested allowing nine months prior to and one month following the Festival for theCommission to conduct its work outside of Chapter 92.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā asked Commissioners for questions or comments. Ms. de Silva asked why theHouse Bill died. Chair explained that it was due to a scheduling problem because of a triple
referral. Ms. de Silva asked about the likely outcome of SB 696 SD1 and Chair indicated that heis hopeful for a positive outcome.
Ms. Wong-Kalu asked what would happen if the Senate Bill does not pass out of committee.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā explained that the Commission will cease to exist as of June 2021. Chair ishopeful that the Senate version will not die. Chair Ka‘anā‘anā encouraged Commissioners tocheck the capitol.hawaii.gov website to track the measure.Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 4 of 5

PLANNING OF THE MARCH 8, 2021 MEETING
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā has set the March 22, 2021 Commission Meeting to be a quarterly meeting
instead of what was previously planned for March 8, 2021. Quarterly meetings and one annual
annual meeting are what is intended by the Commission to allocate time for planning, technical,and logistical details that will require longer discussions.
Chair asked for specific agenda items that Commissioners would like discussed during thequarterly meetings and requested for comments and suggestions.
Mr. McComber expressed that quarterly meetings should include discussions related tofundraising, timelines, milestones, entire budget including private sector funding support, etc.
Discussions with UH should be made to identify ways in which UH may be able to assist.
Chair Kaʻanāʻanā advises that budgets for each section can be made once programming has beenconfirmed, however, there needs to be an overall budget that the Commission is pursuing -- forexample, whether it be $6 million or $10 million for the overall Festival and whether future
legislative requests might be needed.
Ms. Bento stated that while programming will be driving budgetary items, it should be noted thatthe same venues that were initially decided for the 2020 event may not be used. She asked if
there is a ballpark figure that the Commission should be aiming for based upon previous Festivalbudgets?
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā indicated that although there is an understanding of costs of prior Festivals,
costs will vary greatly because of geographic location, etc. What is unique is that Hawaiʻi hascommitted to house, feed, and transport delegates, however, in the past delegates have usually
paid for their own costs.
Ms. de Silva suggested that the March 22 meeting be used to vet venues. She also asked whether
Ms. Bento’s committee or Commissioners would be making determinations as to venue
selections. Chair explained that the committee will make a recommendation and theCommission will vote on the venues. Ms. de Silva asked for clarification whether Mr. Gionson
will have the template with information or whether he is developing a blank template. She askedwhether the template would be sent to Ms. Bento’s committee?
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā stated that several Commissioners will be responsible for researching andcontacting respective venues as determined in the Kuleana Matrix. Mr. Gionson will be setting
up a template because we are looking for consistency regarding information that is collected andshared.
Ms. Salā asked whether the Commission would be selecting venues based upon the listing fromthe 2020 event only. She also asked whether the Commission should get UH involved to see
what they may be able to offer.

Minutes of the Commission on the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture
Monday, February 22, 2021 at 2:30pm via ZOOMPage 5 of 5

Chair Ka‘anā‘anā mentioned that here have not been any commitments made except for theHawaiʻi Convention Center since a contract has been executed; however, for other venue
options, the Commission is open to exploring other sites.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā asked Ms. Sanders to have Mr. Gionson share last year’s venue listing withCommissioners. With the exception of the Convention Center and UH Residence Halls, venue
options can be explored again. The Commission does not need to be beholden to last year’s list.
Venues need to be tied to the needs of the festival based upon offerings. Venues should be thosethat promote a safe and healthy Festival.
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā said that venues could be potentially ready for decision making, a fundraisingand top line budget number that could help us set a goal for fundraising, and the discussion
regarding the Honorary Chair of the Festival could be agendized and decided on in the March 22,2021 quarterly meeting which will be held from 2:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Ms. de Silva suggested that the agenda for the March 22 quarterly meeting be prioritized withdecision-making on venues being the first order of business. If there is no time to discuss theother agenda items, those could be deferred to the May 17 annual meeting. Consideration could
be made to include partners, possible funders, etc.
Chair Kaʻanāʻanā summerized agenda for March 22, 2021 meeting to be venues, budgets andfundraising, and Honorary Chair of the Festival.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā invited the public to offer comments. Hearing none, he continued with theAgenda.
NEXT MEETING
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā confirmed that the next meeting will be held on March 8, 2022 as regularlyscheduled followed by the quarterly meeting on March 22, 2021 from 2:30 p.m. – 5p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Ka‘anā‘anā adjourned meeting at 3:02 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,

03/05/2021
Kalani Ka‘anā‘anā
ChairDate