THE Vodafone Festival of the Friendly North raised a gross total of $267,203.85 over the past week of carnival at the Subrail Park in Labasa.
Miss Fiji Sugar Corporation Mere Wainiqolo was crowned Miss Charity after her sponsor contributed $25,555.55 while Miss Northern Service Commission Sayal Singh was runner-up to the Charity Crown for raising $11,091.70.
Miss Apco Coatings Litia Bola was secondrunner-up and Miss FSC Mere Wainiqolo was first runner-up.
For the King’s category, Mr University of the South Pacific/Pacific TAFE Lawrence Singh was crowned King on Friday night. Police maintained tight security on the final night as about 5000 people crowded both grounds of the park.
Stall operators ran out of food as people bought lots of food while grog lovers sat in stalls and enjoyed the traditional drink with friends and families.
Despite the two days of rain, carnival committee chairman Rajneel Maharaj said the event was a successful one.
“Considering that after two years, we were able to organise this event again is a success because we raked in a good amount of money,” he said.
“I thank the communities of Vanua Levu for their great support towards the annual event and we have done this because of the support from the communities and we will continue to do more for our people in Vanua Levu.
“The main project for this year will be the upgrading of the dialysis centre at the Labasa Hospital which goes in line with this year’s theme – ‘Healthy and Prosperous North’.”
Mr Maharaj said over the past 15 years, the carnival has spent $1.8 million on community development projects. This year, the carnival committee aims to upgrade the dialysis centre at the Labasa Hospital with an estimated cost of $70,000.
“This centre was established by the festival management in 2014 and over the years there has been continuous increased demand for services.”
