By SIMON ERORO
THE stage is set for the famous Tufi Tapa and Tattoo Cultural Festival this weekend in Tufi station. The show will start on Saturday 12th and ends on Sunday 13th March. This festival is the only annual event in Northern Province calendar and aims at showcasing the rich cultures and traditions of the people of Tufi. It was revived in 2018 by the local MP Richard Masere after his election in 2017, and this year will see its third year after 12 years of its disappearance due to lack of leadership and funding constraints. Hon Masere said the cultural festival is mainly supported by corporate sponsors with the Ijivitari District being the major sponsor such as; Kumul Telikom Holdings Limited (KTHL) through its subsidiary BeMobile, SP Brewery Limited, New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL) and Tufi Dive Resort. The new sponsors that have now come on board are Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL) and Kenny PNG Limited. Masere said the district will continue to provide support together with their stakeholders’ including the Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Ministry. The Country Manager for NBPOL Robert Nilkare said NBPOL is excited to be part of this festival and will continue to sponsor because NBPOL employs the biggest workforce in the private sector in the Northern Province. The festival will kick off with face tattooing for young girls, display of traditional artifacts and cultural dances and traditional rituals and local artists to entertain through the night with fireworks planned to light up the festival grounds. He said this festival is also important to his people as it is about preserving their culture, traditions and language for future generations. The show committees also confirmed that more people are expected to attend now that; Link PNG- a subsidiary of Air Niugini and PNG Air starts regular flights into Tufi.