The 2018 Kamehameha Festival, a celebration in honor of Kamehameha the Great, will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Kamehameha Day, on Mokuola (Coconut Island) in Hilo.
This year’s festival theme is “E ‘Onipa‘a Kakou” (“To be steadfast, established, firm, resolute and determined”). The festival will feature Hawaiian music and dance by some of Hawaii’s leading practitioners, art and craft vendors and ono food.
Performers include Lito Arkangel and Hula Halau Ke Ola Pono No Na Kupuna, under the direction of kumu hula Haunani Medeiros, and Helele‘i Pua o Waipi‘o, under the direction of kumu hula Ellen Castillo.
Also performing will be Ke ‘Olu Makani o Mauna Loa, under the direction of kumu hula Meleana Manuel, and Na Halau Ha‘a o Kea, under the direction of kumu hula Paul Neves.
Kamehameha Day was first established in 1871 as a national holiday of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Kamehameha Day was created to honor the memory of Kamehameha the Great, who united the Hawaiian Islands in 1810 to became Hawaii’s first king.
The festival is presented by the Royal Order of Kamehameha, Mamalahoa as a community service under the direction of Ali‘i ‘Aimoku David Heaukulani.
For more information, visit KamehamehaFestival.org.