Mariana Islands on display at Chamorro Festival

SAN DIEGO, CA – CHE’LU, the San Diego-based non-profit focused on preserving the Pacific Island culture of Chamorros, will present the 7th Annual Chamorro Cultural Festival (CCF) on Saturday, March

SAN DIEGO, CA – CHE’LU, the San Diego-based non-profit focused on preserving the Pacific Island culture of Chamorros, will present the 7th Annual Chamorro Cultural Festival (CCF) on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at California State University—San Marcos. CCF is a free event with free parking.

CCF is a highly-anticipated annual event, celebrating the arts, culture, customs and people of the Mariana Islands, which include Guam, Saipan and islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. CCF is a unique day of celebration for Chamorros, uniting the indigenous people of the Marianas from all around the world with music and cultural dance performances, educational workshops, cultural foods and a diverse array of products to accentuate the Chamorro in everyone.

“The Chamorro Cultural Festival helps many of us Chamorros—and those of us who appreciate Chamorro culture—celebrate, appreciate and educate people on 4000-plus years of Chamorro history,” said Danny Blas, Chairperson of the CHE’LU Board of Directors. “Every year this event grows and grows. The CCF has become the premier event of mainland Chamorros, and our team is very proud to be able to continue the work to preserve our culture, language and ways of life.”

CCF 2016 will be hosted once again on the spacious campus of Cal State San Marcos. Prior to CSUSM, CCF was hosted in San Diego; however, yearly growth of visitors boosted CHE’LU’s resolve to improve the guest experience by providing a larger venue, protected parking, more seating areas and enhanced facilities, including free wi-fi and family-friendly restrooms.

CHE’LU was founded in San Diego in 2005. CHE’LU helps to preserve Chamorro culture by building a life-size replica of a Chamorro outrigger canoe, The Sakman Chamorro, which was last sailed in 1742 before being destroyed by its colonizers. CHE’LU inaugurated the first-ever Festival of Chamorro Arts on January 16, 2016. San Diego County is home to the largest collection of Chamorro people outside of the Mariana Islands.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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