The Merrie Monarch Festival is uniquely Hawaiian in nature but of worldwide interest. The festival, held yearly in Hilo, is dedicated to King David Kalakaua, the “Merrie Monarch,” who revived the art of hula — which had been banned after Christian missionaries arrived in Hawaii in the 1820s.
Right now, the Merrie Monarch ranks No. 1 in an ongoing online vote by USA Today for the nation’s Top 10 cultural festivals in the publication’s Readers’ Choice Awards. There are 20 more days of voting and voters can vote once daily.
“I am so surprised and honored,” Luana Kawelu, the Merrie Monarch Festival President told the Tribune-Herald late last week. “Wow, this small town with a recognition of that sort? I was so amazed — humbled by the recognition that we could be one of the 10.”
The festival, which runs from Easter Sunday through the following Saturday, is from March 31 to April 6 this year. In addition to the three-night hula competition — which includes kane and wahine groups, plus Miss Aloha Hula — the festival also includes Wednesday night’s Ho‘ike, which Kawelu said will be free and first-come, first-served again this year, the free Sunday Ho‘olaule‘a, the Merrie Monarch Hawaiian Arts and Crafts Fair, plus free hula and cultural exhibitions at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center and the Hilo Hawaiian and Grand Naniloa hotels.
“It’s really humbling to see that we’re No. 1, but it reaffirms what we’ve known, that Hawaiian history and heritage is a beacon of pride and resilience,” Mayor Mitch Roth said Monday. “It really is amazing. Aunty Luana and her staff and countless others make the Merrie Monarch the amazing event that it is.”
The 20 nominees were submitted to USA Today’s “Best of” editors by a panel of eight national travel experts, writers and podcasters, including Marla Cimini, a surf enthusiast and frequent visitor to Hawaii who lives in Philadelphia’s New Jersey suburbs. The others are: Anna Keizer, a Chicagoland native living in California; Carly Caramanna of New Jersey; Jacky Runice of Chicago; Joanne and Toni DiBona; Kimmie Conner; and Sky Ariella, a full-time traveler originally from New York.
The remainder of the Top 10 vote-getters as of Monday are:
2. Rougarou Fest in Houma, La., a free family-friendly festival celebrates the culture and folklore of Southeast Louisiana.
3. Kutztown Folk Festival in Kutztown, Pa., a celebration of Pennsylvania Dutch culture and heritage and the nation’s oldest continuously operated folk festival.
4. Dublin Irish Festival in Dublin, Ohio, a love letter to all things Irish, including Irish dance, Celtic music and traditional Irish food and drinks.
5. Greek Agora Festival in Cherry Hill, N.J., which serves up baklava, moussaka, spanakopita, and shots of ouzo with traditional bouzouki music and Greek dances each October.
6. Aloha Festivals in Hawaii, a celebration of the music, dance, food, and cultural traditions that started out as Aloha Week in Honolulu, but since has expanded to hundreds of events on six islands.
7. Bavarian Blast in New Ulm, Minn., an Oktoberfest-like summer celebration in a small Minnesota town named after a city in Bavaria, featuring horse wagons, polka bands and dancing, authentic German food, beer and more.
8. Frozen Dead Guy Days in Estes Park, Colo., a quirky, irreverent, and macabre festival centering around the cryogenically frozen corpse of Norwegian patient Bredo Morstoel, with events including coffin races, a Royal Blue Ball, a polar plunge and zombie bar crawl.
9. YéShì Chinatown Night Market in Philadelphia, a one-night, annual fall event highlighting Philly’s Chinatown with arts and crafts vendors, live performances and interactive games like mahjong and ping-pong.
10. Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, N.M., with 500-plus balloon teams take to the sky together for nine days in October, accompanied by a juried art show, local food trucks and live music.
“You know, the sad part is I felt bad because we’re up against Aloha Festivals,” Kawelu said. “I wish they didn’t put us against another Hawaii festival, you know? But Aloha Festivals is also one of the 10.
“It says a lot about our culture, to be loved by so many around the world.”
In its 61st year, the Merrie Monarch has become more than just a source of local pride. Hula halau are in every state in the U.S. and Hawaiian dance is popular in far-flung locales such as Japan and Mexico, with some of Hawaii’s top kumu hula teaching students there. The three-night hula competition itself is telecast statewide on KFVE-TV (K5) and streamed online with viewers across the globe.
Tickets, which are mail-order only, are fulfilled first come, first-served after Christmas, with many who request tickets unable to be seated in the 4,200-seat Edith Kanaka‘ole Multipurpose Stadium in Hilo. Admission prices remain low, but the week of the festival is an essential driver of the Big Island economy.
“There are several things about Merrie Monarch,” Roth said. “They could probably earn a lot more money, but they are dedicated to making it available and affordable to everybody.
“It’s a tribute to the Hawaiian culture and it helps keep the culture alive.”