The seventh annual Hilo World Peace Festival will take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at Moku Ola (Coconut Island).
The seventh annual Hilo World Peace Festival will take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at Moku Ola (Coconut Island).
Festivities are free and open to the public.
The festival, a partnership event coordinated by Soka Gakkai International USA, the International Committee of Artists for Peace, Destination Hilo and the Hawaii County, celebrates cultural diversity and promotes the creation of a peaceful world.
The annual festival features performances, food and beverages, as well as opportunities to experience cultural expressions of dance, music and art.
“The Hilo World Peace Festival was created to promote the spirit of aloha, the universal language of love, which encourages acts to honor and revere our elders; to love, nurture, and protect our children; and to respect the harmony of our families, thus creating a healthy community and island lifestyle,” said Roxcie Waltjen of the Hawaii County Culture Education Division.
The entertainment lineup includes the Hui Okinawa Kobudo Taiko, hula by the Hilo SGI Group and contemporary music by Vaughn Valentino. There also will be Indian fusion dancing by Deepa Ram Souza, Tupulaga O’Samoa from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner Mark Yamanaka.
Members of Honu-apo, Ka‘u, will be on hand to provide free educational and cultural rides in two traditional double-hulled sailing canoes departing from the island shore.
For more information about the festival, contact the county Culture Education Division at 961-8706 or cultureandeducation@hawaiicounty.gov.