Casinos in Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora

(PRWEB) July 3, 2007 --"Casinos in Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora make the dreams destinations a Vegas miniature by the lagoons"

The 125th Heiva I Tahiti, or Tahiti Festival, the biggest celebration of the year throughout Tahiti and her islands, opens on Friday and continues through July 21, offering a nearly month-long program of traditional, cultural and entertaining events.

Casinos in Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora make the dreams destinations a Vegas miniature by the lagoons Some 30 traditional dancing and singing groups will compete this year in competition that will be held nightly from July 1-July 8 at Place To'ata in downtown Papeete.

After seven nights of competition, there will be an awards ceremony on the night of July 19 and a special dance show orchestrated by Coco Hotahota entitled "Once upon a time ...".

A special evening featuring all of this year's winning groups will be held the next night, July 20.

A camera show presenting many of the competing groups will be held on July 21 at the Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands, where there also will be a demonstration of traditional Tahitian sports.

Another one of the most popular Tahiti Festival events is always the outrigger canoe racing in Papeete Harbor. There will be two days of races this year each day. There will be races of three- and six-paddler canoes and one- and 16-paddler canoes.

There also will be two days of outrigger canoe ocean racing. A race for junior men will start from Papeete, going to the Tahara'a Point and returning to Papeete. A race for senior women the same day and cover the same course.

The next day, July 7, outrigger canoes will leave in front of Place To'ata and paddle to Moorea and back.

Other Tahiti Festival events include

A regatta of sailing outrigger canoes from Venus Point on July 6 and July 7; At the Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands, stone-lifting competition for women, a fruit carriers' race for women and individual javelin-throwing, stone-lifting for men, a fruit carriers' race for men and javelin-throwing by teams.; Javelin-throwing, stone-lifting for all categories and copra preparation contests for men and women individuals and teams on July 17 at the Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands.
The annual Heiva O Tahiti artistans' exhibition opened last Friday at Place Sigogne in downtown Papeete next to the waterfront's Place To'ata.

The exhibition, presented by the French Polynesia Culture Ministry in cooperation with the Windward Islands Organizing Committee of Artisans' Exhibitions, will have as its theme this year "te ara o te rahu", which is Tahitian for "the path of creation", which signifies a will to evolve the artisan sector towards a more creative horizon.

The theme also represents a young generation concerned about combined ancestral know-how with the specificities of the modern world. In other words, today's Heiva artisans want to remain steadfastly modern while working with traditional artisan skills.

More than 140 representatives of selected associations and federations will exhibit their creations in the heart of the artisans' village of 150 stands prepared for the occasion. The exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to discover the indigenous artisan talents of each of the five archipelagos that make up French Polynesia - the Society Islands, the Gambier Islands, the Austral Islands, the Tuamotu Archipelago and the Marquesas Islands.

For an entire month, and only a short walking distance from the heart of downtown Papeete, this artisan village will present a wide variety of creations involving such talents as sculpturing, weaving, sewing, engraving. They make up the precious know-how found throughout the island groups.

The exhibition is a rare occasion for the lovers of beautiful authentic objects and original creations to discover and purchase the treasures produced by the talented hands of artisan experts who enrich the cultural identity of Tahiti and Her Islands.

The exhibition will include:
120 stands for Windward Islands artisan associations; stands for Leeward Islands artisan associations; 6 stands for Tuamotu-Gambier artisan associations; 6 stands for Austral Islands artisan associations; And, 2 stands for Marquesas Islands artisan associations.
There also will be six eating places, one first aid station and one administrative stand for the organizing committee.

Finally, the associations and federations for young artisans of ages 18 to 30 will have a special place of honor this year for their own exclusive contests. This competition will involve:
The election of the most handsome young Heiva couple; The creation of a shell parure consisting of a necklace, pair of earrings, bracelet and ring; The making of a hand sewn "purotu" dress; The creation of a wooden sculpture or an interior decoration object; The creation of a mother-of-pearl, wooden, bone, stone, coconut fiber or white niau (pandanus) parure for a man; The freehand creation of a king size "tifaifai" with a flower theme as a wall hanging or bedspread; The making of a mirror using local shells. The weaving of a basket or fashion accessory using local plant material; The making of a set of table linen; And, the preparation of a floral composition using fresh flowers.
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