NEWSFLASH

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YOUNG ARTISTS CELEBRATE ASIA-PACIFIC FOLK FESTIVAL

Manila, Nov. 22, 1997 - More than 200 young folk artists from around the world are gathered in the Philippines for a week-long celebration of "Asia-Pacific Folk Festival on Music, Dance and Theater" spearheaded by the Department of Tourism.

Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor explains that one of the main objectives of the event is to preserve indigenous performance arts and encourage young people to actively engage in their development as folk artists.

Aside from the performances in different venues such as Rizal Park, Remedios Circle, Paco Park, Sulayman Plaza and schools, the festival features a young folk artists' camp from November 24-29.

Festival organizer Francisco Feliciano says "the camp will be a forum for the participating young artists to learn about each other's music and culture, perform together, and for our Filipino artists to introduce our fold and traditional music to foreign participants. This could open avenues for future exchange."

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