The fifth Nalawan Annual Cultural Festival was held over two days on 25 and 26 August 2026 at Lawa, South West Bay, on Malekula’s remote south-western coast, after rough seas forced organisers to postpone the event by four days and prevented some visiting yachts from reaching the bay.
The festival, hosted by the Lawa community and the South West Malekula Area Tourism Support Association, replaced its planned water activities with new land-based tours for guests who were able to reach the bay, most travelling by yacht anchored offshore.
Sea conditions cut neighbouring performers, but full program delivered
Rough seas also prevented custom dance groups from Caroline Bay and Toman Island from travelling to perform, so Lawa organisers substituted their own activities to ensure visitors received the full paid program. Visitors were welcomed with green coconuts and salusalu, and the event included custom dance performances, carving and canoe displays, weaving with local women, guided garden and bush walks, and a feast prepared by the community.
First fly-in group signals new access potential
For the first time in the festival’s five-year history, 18 visitors flew into Lakatoro specifically to attend, booked through Malekula Holiday Villas and the Pocket Guide team. When the postponement meant the group could not wait for the rescheduled dates, the Malampa Tourism Office rebooked them onto Small Nambus cultural tours in North East Malekula so they could still experience Malekula kastom during their stay.
Rollyne Liu, manager of Malampa Tourism, said the group’s interest signalled growing potential for air access to the destination.
“Lawa showed real resilience. The weather took away most of their visitors and the community still delivered two full days of kastom for the guests who made it ashore,” Liu said.
“South West Bay is one of the most culturally rich parts of Vanuatu, and our job now is to make it easier and safer for visitors to get there.”
Certified yacht anchorage planned for 2027
The Department of Tourism will work with the Department of Ports and Harbour and the Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority on a certified yacht anchorage for South West Bay, alongside fixed festival dates and new marketing content for 2027.
The Nalawan festival is one of several community-based cultural events on Malekula supported under the Vanuatu Tourism Recovery and Resilience Programme 2026, alongside the Lamap Annual Cultural Festival, the Walla Cultural Heritage Festival and the Malekula Canoe Festival, scheduled for 22 to 24 December 2026.
