Manus Garamut and Canoe Festival

Manus Garamut and Canoe Festival 26th of June, 2026 Manus Province is gearing up to host its highly anticipated 2nd......

LIFESTYLE & CULTUREARTS & CULTURE

Cyrus Pomat

6/26/20262 min read

Manus Province is gearing up to host its highly anticipated 2nd Annual Garamut and Canoe Festival, an event scheduled to coincide with the celebrations of Manus Provincial Day on August 25th this year. The announcement was made recently by the Governor of Manus Province, Hon. Charlie Benjamin, during the official launch of the Manus Governor’s Cup Tier 1 for Los Negros LLG which is being hosted at the Lombrum Naval Base. The upcoming milestone event is set to put the spotlight firmly on the province's rich maritime history and deep-rooted cultural heritage.

Governor Benjamin, who serves in prominent National Tourism roles including the Chairman of the National Parliamentary Committee for Culture and Tourism and also the Chairman of the Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) Board, expressed immense optimism for the festival's future.

It is known that the festival has achieved major official recognition, including being formally gazetted as an annual calendar event by the Tourism Promotion Authority of Papua New Guinea which firmly establishes the cultural celebration as a major attraction on the Nation's Tourism map.

The momentum behind this year's festival is heavily backed by national support following a successful debut. During the inaugural event last year, the then Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Hon. Belden Namah, officiated the launch and committed half a million Kina to fund the hosting of this year's second edition. This financial backing ensures that the traditional dance, garamut drumming, and historic canoe racing displays will return on an even larger and more vibrant scale.

Governor Benjamin stressed that Manus Province possesses extraordinary untapped tourism potential, adding his government has committed to heavily developing the local tourism infrastructure over the next five years. To realize this vision, the Governor called upon local citizens, specifically targeting those living in the Los Negros Local Level Government (LLG) to actively venture into the tourism sector by establishing localized guest houses, eco-parks, hospitality services, and creative tourism products.

Emphasizing a grassroots approach to economic growth, the Governor advised citizens against being discouraged by a lack of massive upfront capital, urging them to start with small-scale activities and organically grow their tourism businesses over time.

By combining cultural pride with sustainable micro-enterprise, Governor Benjamin believes the people of Manus can successfully build a robust, community-led hospitality industry that transforms the province's unique cultural identity into long-term economic prosperity.