MEDIA RELEASE

HALAU AND KUMU HULA

Oahu Island

1. Halau Hula Olana (Wahine)
Olana and Howard Ai
Puuloa, Oahu

2. Halau I Ka Wekiu (Kane & Wahine)
Karl Veto Baker and Michael Casupang
Pauoa, Oahu

3. Ka Pa Hula O Ka Lei Lehua (Kane)
Snowbird Bento
Honolulu, Oahu

4. Ka Pa Hula O Kauanoe O Waahila (Wahine)
Maelia Loebenstein Carter
Kaimuki, Oahu

5. Halau O Na Pua Kukui (Kane)
Ed Collier
Kalihi, Oahu

6. Keolalaulani Halau Olapa O Laka (Kane & Wahine)
Aloha Dalire
Heeia, Oahu and Hilo, Hawaii

7. Halau Mohala Ilima (Wahine)
Mapuana de Silva
Kaohao, Hawaii

8. Halau Ke Kiai A O Hula (Kane)
Kapiolani Hao
Kalihi and Kapālama, Oahu

9. Kealiikaapunihonua Keena Ao Hula (Wahine)
Leimomi Ho
Honolulu, Oahu

10. Hula Halau O Kamuela (Wahine)
Kauionalani Kamanao and Kunewa Mook
Kalihi & Waimanalo, Hawaii

11. Ka La Onohi Mai O Haehae (Wahine)
Tracie and Keawe Lopes
Kahauiki, Oahu

12. Kawailiula (Kane)
Chinky Mahoe
Kailua, Oahu

13. Ke Kai O Kahiki (Kane)
Laakea Perry
Waianae, Oahu

14. Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka La (Kane)
Kaleo Trinidad
Honolulu, Oahu

15. Halau Hula Ka Lehua Tuahine (Wahine)
Kailihiwa Vaughan-Darval
Manoa, Oahu

Hawaii Island

16. Halau Hula O Kahikilaulani (Kane & Wahine)
Nahoku Gaspang
Hilo, Hawaii

17. Halau Hula Nā Pua Uʻi O Hawaii (Wahine)
Etua Lopes
Kailua Kona, Hawaii

18. Halau O Ka Ua Kani Lehua (Wahine)
Johnny Lum Ho
Hilo, Hawaii

19. Halau O Ke Anuenue (Wahine)
Glenn Kelena Vasconcellos
Hilo, Hawaii

Maui Island

20. Halau Na Lei Kaumaka O Uka (Wahine)
Napua Greig and Kahulu Maluo
Kula, Maui

21. Halau Kekuaokalaaualailiahi (Kane)
Iliahi and Haunani Paredes
Wailuku, Maui

Kauai Island

22. Halau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leinaala (Wahine)
Leinaala Pavao Jardin
Kalaheo, Kauai

23. Healani’s Hula Halau & Music Academy (Wahine)
Beverly Apana Muraoka
Kapaa, Kauai

California

24. Halau Kealiai O Nalani (Wahine)
Kealii Ceballos
Los Angeles, California

25. Academy of Hawaiian Arts (Kane)
Mark Kealii Hoomalu
Oakland, California

26. Halau O Lilinoe (Kane & Wahine)
Sissy and Lilinoe Kaio
Carson, California

JUDGES

Cy M. Bridges
Nālani Kanakaole
Mae Kamamalu Klein
Noenoelani Zuttermeister Lewis
Joan S. Lindsey
Kealii Reichel
Kalena Silva

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Hoolaulea (celebration)
9 a.m. Sunday, March 31 at the Afook Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Free admission to watch performances by our local halau.

Coronation Pageant
6 p.m. Sunday, March 31 at the Hilo Armory.
A tribute to the pageantry of the festival’s early years, with performances dedicated to our alii.

Kalakaua Beard Look-Alike Contest
5 p.m. Monday, April 1 at the Mooheau Park Bandstand.
A lively whisker competition for our men.

Free Mid-day Entertainment
Daily (Monday through Friday) entertainment at the Hawaii Naniloa Volcanoes Resort (noon) and the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel (1 p.m.)

Barbershop Quartet Competition
5 p.m. Tuesday, April 2 at the Mooheau Park Bandstand.
A musical a cappella competition.

Arts and Crafts Fair
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 – Friday, April 5 and 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 6 at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
An annual favorite, this free event features local artists and crafters.

Hoike Performances
5:45 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 at the Edith Kanakaole Stadium.
An exhibition night of hula and music.

Miss Aloha Hula
5:45 p.m. Thursday, April 4 at the Edith Kanakaole Stadium.
Individual competition for the title of Miss Aloha Hula with contestants performing hula kahiko, hula auana and oli (chanting).

Group Hula Kahiko
5:45 p.m. Friday, April 5 at the Edith Kanakaole Stadium.
Halau hula perform ancient style dances.

Group Hula Auana & Awards
5:45 p.m. Saturday, April 6 at the Edith Kanakaole Stadium.
Halau hula perform modern style dances with an awards presentation for all group winners.

Merrie Monarch Royal Parade
10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 6
One of the festival’s most entertaining and fun events for the entire family, the parade begins and ends at Pauahi Street and winds through downtown Hilo (Kilauea Avenue – Keawe Street – Waianuenue Avenue – Kamehameha Avenue)

MERRIE MONARCH CULTURAL ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

Imiloa Astronomy Center
10 a.m. Wednesday April 3
Panel-style discussion
Halia Aloha

Hula Master, George Naope, is a cornerstone of the Merrie Monarch Festival. Listen as cherished memories are shared by some of his closest students, offering an intimate glimpse into Uncle George’s personality, philosophy, teaching style and respect for his culture.

1 p.m. Wednesday April 3
Video and discussion
Loea Hula

Treasured stories are shared through rare video footage of Hula Greats of the 20th Century. This session highlights stewards of knowledge whose legacy and devotion to their culture can be seen in the depth and richness of today’s hula.

Hula Preservation Society is a non-profit organization that seeks to preserve and share the treasured stories of our hula elders for time immemorial. In 2012, HPS embarked on an effort to save rare footage containing live performances and recognitions of Kumu Hula, Musicians, and Composers who were widely respected kupuna in the 1980s: elders such as Alice Namakelua, Farden sisters Emma Sharpe & Irmgard Aluli & Family, Pono & Louise Beamer & Family, Iolani Luhaine with Hoakalei Kamauu, Bill Aliiloa Lincoln, Sally Wood Naluai, Mae Loebenstein & Family, Kent Ghirard, and Johnny Almeida, among many more.

10 a.m. Thursday April 4
Talk-story session & Hula Performance
Pookela

Setting the standard of excellence in hula and defining what it means to be frontline hula dancers are the winners of the Merrie Monarch’s first hula competition in 1971, Hauoli Hula Maids, led by famed musician Pauline Kekahuna with choreography by renowned Kumu Hula Vicky Ii Rodrigues.

Join us for this historic gathering of the Hau‘oli Hula Maids and learn how hula literally took them around the world. Talking-story will be Aunties Mapuana Yasue, Florence Koanui, Jade Hind, and Kumu Leimomi Ho, along with Auntie Pauline Kekahuna’s ohana including younger sister Leialoha Kaleikini. They will share about their hula days with cultural icons like Joseph Kahaulelio, Vicky Ii Rodrigues, Leilani Sharpe Mendez, and of course Auntie Pauline. They will also share their award-winning hula styles and signature dances, including perhaps their 1971 winning competition number.

1 p.m. Thursday April 4
Panel-style discussion
Waimapuna

Exploding onto the Merrie Monarch stage in 1978 leaving the audience breathless and claiming victory in hula kahiko and auana divisions as well as the overall title were the men of Waimapuna. Kumu Hula Darrell Lupenui’s strong masculine dance style ignited new interest in hula, attracting hordes of enthusiastic fans with heightened expectations of hula as a visual art.

The men of Waimapuna, some of whom have become Kumu Hula themselves will provide an insightful glimpse of the nurturing, devotion, dedication and rigor that made Darrell Lupenui’s performances legendary. They will share the importance of the lessons learned from their Kumu and the role it played in the perpetuation and authenticity of the art, and how it affected their lives and disciplines inside and outside of hula.

10 a.m. Friday April 5
Presentation & Hula Performance
Ola Ka Hula

More than just a visual art, the importance of hula is in the language through the forms of oli (chanting) and mele (singing). Rich in metaphor and personification, olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) coupled with movement, rhythm and sound is a strong instrument for expressing and imprinting values, teachings and histories, connecting humanity with the past, present and future.

Pelehonuamea Suganuma Harman and Kekoa L. Harman teach hula at Ke Kula o Nawahiokalaniopuu in Kea‘au, and at Ka Haka Ula O Keelikolani at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Classes at both schools are taught entirely through the medium of Hawaiian language. Both see language as an important vehicle in imparting beliefs and practices to preserve traditional aspects of hula. This presentation is done in celebration of 30 years of Hawaiian language revitalization, and the continuance and preservation of language, and traditional cultural practices.

1 p.m. Friday April 5
Talk-story session & Hula Performance
Aloha Hula

Individual competition for the title of Miss Aloha Hula has long been a tradition of the Merrie Monarch festival since 1971. Each solo performance is a culmination of years of devotion and dedication to hula and is a reflection of the highest level of skill and knowledge handed down from teacher to student.

Sharing her family tradition of excellence in hula is the winner of the first Miss Aloha Hula competition in 1971, Aloha Dalire. Aloha represents a lineage of hula mastery inherited from her mother, Keolalaulani. Joining Aloha are her daughters, all Miss Aloha Hula winners, and their children. Learn about the rich heritage that has been passed down from mother to daughter.

— Find out more:
www.merriemonarch.com