WILMER JOEL
Majuro New Year’s Block Party continues to be a hit spectacle that lives up to its reputation every new year in the Marshall Islands.
This year’s Block Party Committee collaborated with the Office of Commerce, Investment and Tourism (OCIT) once more to organize this yearly jamboree to the fullest potential, an event sponsored by 13 establishments including individuals, non-government organizations, government agencies, fisheries, and businesses.
Long-time Block Party organizer and this year’s Chairman Waylon Muller told the Journal that this year’s Block Party was well coordinated with OCIT as well as the committees that were assigned responsibilities to help facilitate the event, which included setup, security, food, cleanup, band, and other areas. Muller added that it only took them seven meetings to get the block party prepared, starting from mid-November to December 20 of last month. Twenty-six booths were set up during the Block Party to service the party goers. But it wasn’t alone what happened on the street.
Photo: Wilmer Joel.
The Marshall Islands main hotels Marshall Islands Resort (MIR) and Hotel Robert Reimers (RRE) were packed to capacity with locals as well as people from off-island.
RRE hotel Manager Colette Reimers said that all of RRE’s 37 hotel rooms were filled with customers, with a nice mix of guests from on island and off-island. Many of the local on-island guests stayed for a few nights. However, the off-island guests stayed a bit longer, some up to five or six nights.
MIR General Hirobo Obeketang indicated that their hotel had more than 70 rooms booked by local and Kwajalein customers. The local customers stayed for two to three nights while the customers from Kwajalein stayed for six to eight nights.
At the Block Party, local musicians and bands were jamming classics and hits getting people grooving. Daniel Kramer’s Power 103.5FM was responsible for bringing out the best sound quality and commentary through the likes of DJ Pat and DJ Yastamon.
When it hit midnight, fireworks boomed loudly throughout Uliga and Jenrok, getting residents out of their homes to see the fireworks crackle in the night.
It is essential to note that if you were driving around wondering where all the trash went that was produced during the Block party, it was the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to thank who took time and effort to clean that area at 5am after the party, a tradition that started four years ago by Marshallese Muslims.