Manus Island will come alive with the Island Vibes Manus Stringband Festival under the theme ‘Our Culture, Our Identity’. The Stringband Music Festival will kick off on Friday the 25th to Saturday the 26th of August 2023 at the Prince William Oval, in Lorengau Town. Organizer of this first of its kind event for Manus Province, Mr. Livingstone Pagat, said this is an initiative of Barefoot Productions and the Manus Provincial Government. “This Stringband Festival is an effort to keep our Manus Stringband Music alive and thriving.” Mr. Pagat explained that with the introduction of technology into music today, they have observed a concerning loss of this unique style of music. “The Stringband Festival is our way of paying homage to our style of stringband music, while also providing an initiative for stringband members to continue playing that unique style of music and to pass it on to the new generation.” Registrations to participate in the Island Vibes Manus Stringband Festival 2023 are running, with several local stringbands already registered to participate. The organizers said there has also being interest expressed by stringbands from Suau in the Milne Bay Province to participate in the Stringband Festival. There will be display booths, Live Bands, Traditional Performances, as well as stringband competition, prizes and more. “The Island Vibes Manus Stringband Festival is also a lead up event to the Independence Celebrations on the Island and we hope that it will become an annual event.”