Tahiti’S Fete Shines Again

HP A HITES annual fete, according to one analysis, has finally found its proper place once again after having suffered a bad name in recent years, with its prestige sinking to nothing more than a drinking bout and hardly anyone caring.

And, in August, with all the outrigger canoes back in their districts, the flower leis wilting in the sun and the grass skirts used in the dance competition up for sale, there was time to take a more unemotional look at this year’s fete. Although there were some complaints that the top prizes for the dancing and singing compethion continue to be shared by only two groups, there was general agreement that this year’s programme was tops in the quality and quantity of competition.

But a fete costs a lot of money to stage. And with Tahiti worried about world inflation in general and the prospects of its first fiscal budget deficit, it is interesting to note that the Tahiti Tourist Development Board (the government office of tourism) spent 26 million French Pacific francs on this year’s fet e-

According to Alec Ata, director of the tourist board, this represents about 10 per cent of the board’s 268 million-franc-budget. And in addition to the 26 million francs spent on Tahiti’s fete, another 1.2 million was spent on fete pro grammes in the Leeward Islands of Bora Bora, Raiatea and Taaa.

A week after the regular fete was over, Hotel Tahiti TraveLodge and La Caravane de Bonheur, a sports association, held a mini fete, offering a two-day, condensed version of the regular fete. This turned out to be so successful that the hotel announced it plans to make this an annual event, Meanwhile, Ata announced that the Tahiti Tourist Development Board is now working on plans to hold a South Pacific dance festival in Tahiti next April, hoping that such a spectacle will attract a substantial number of tourists to help beef up what is normally a bad month for tourism here. The tentative plans call for bringing dance groups from the Solomons, Fiji, Bali, the Philip pines, Peru and Brazil. But as Ata noted, “Many difficulties lie ahead’’.

Temaeva, winner of the cup for the best dance group. Photo: Al Prince.