The organizers of this year’s Tahiti Festival have announced plans to build a Heiva I Tahiti village on Papeete’s beachfront in order to create a truepublic event bringing everyone together. Heiva Nui, the organizer of Tahiti’s biggest, longest and most famous yearly event, said its new artistic and cultural staff have reviewed every aspect of the Heiva I Tahiti, or Tahiti Festival, which begins this year on July 2 and ends on July 21.

Village to Offer Variety of Traditional, Cultural Activities
The building a festival village at Papeete’s Sigogne Beach incorporates the organizers’ idea of the Tahiti Festival not being complete without bringing everyone together—festival participants and the public. So the Tahiti Festival Village will offer a variety of traditional and cultural activities throughout the month of July. They will include traditional sports, tattooing, medicine, massages, horticulture, agriculture and traditional arts and crafts. Plans for this year’s program include several new features, including a June 2 election of a "Purotu and Tane", or a Miss and Mr. Tahiti

Festival; a "Tama Hiti Rau", or a contest among traditional dance schools; a show presented by the French Polynesia Artistic Conservatory; and a "Heiva i Tuaro", or traditional sports competition.

Traditional Dancing, Singing Competition Begins July 2
But no Heiva I Tahiti is complete without its traditional Tahitian dancing and singing competition held at Papeete’s Place To’ata. This year’s program is scheduled for six nights starting on July 2 and continuing on two three-night segments from Thursday to Saturday nights—July 6-8 and July 15-16. The traditional awards ceremony is scheduled for the night of July 19. And a gala evening of traditional dancing and singing presenting all of this year’s winners is scheduled for July 21, with July 22 as a backup in case of bad weather on the 21st. Eleven dance groups will be competing in one of two categories—legendary or historic. The traditional singing competition will feature 12 groups this year. The motivation for this year’s new look for the Heiva I Tahiti came recently from French Polynesia Culture Minister Tauhiti Nena, who announced, "The objective is make it possible for the Heiva to once again become a popular and festive event."