The 61st Annual Merrie Monarch Festival shifted into high gear Wednesday night with the Ho‘ike, an exhibition of hula and folk dance from around the Pacific Rim at the Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium in Hilo.
As they have every year since 1997, Halau O Kekuhi was the first troupe to perform.
Under the direction of na kumu hula Nalani Kanakaole and Huihui Kanahele-Mossman, the halau is widely known and celebrated for its ‘aiha‘a style of hula (dance) and ‘oli (chant). The ‘aiha‘a is a low-postured, vigorous, bombastic style of hula that springs from the eruptive volcano personas of Pele and Hi‘iaka, characteristic of Hawaii Island’s creative forces.
There also was a performance honoring ‘Aha Punana Leo and ‘Olelo Hawai‘i.
‘Aha Punana Leo — the nonprofit educational organization that took a lead role in the revitalization of ‘Olelo Hawai‘i, the Hawaiian language through Hawaiian immersion education — celebrated its 40th year in existence in 2003.
When ‘Aha Punana Leo was founded in January 1983 by a group of Hawaiian educators, fluency in the Hawaiian language was largely limited to those born before 1920 and the 200 or so people living on the Island of Ni‘ihau. Now, largely through efforts spearheaded by ‘Aha Punana Leo, there are several thousand speakers of Hawaii’s native language, and a complete preschool through doctoral-level system of education in the state of Hawaii is taught entirely through Hawaiian.
One of the educators who founded ‘Aha Punana Leo, Larry Kimura, professor of Hawaiian language and studies at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, is also being honored Saturday as grand marshal of the festival’s Royal Parade.
Always a crowd-pleaser is the haka, a traditional dance of Aotearoa — also known as New Zealand. The performers Wednesday were Awhina-i-te-Kaupapa, a group of current and former students of Te Wharekura o Rakaumanga, a Maori school based in Huntly, a small town on New Zealand’s North Island. It is a return for Awhina, who last performed at Ho‘ike in 2019.
The Ho‘ike, which had a $5 admission last year, went back to its original free-of-charge, first-come, first-served seating, with voluntary donations accepted for Maui relief efforts. The Valley Isle is still in the early stages of recovery from the devastating wildfires last August that killed at least 100 people and caused an estimated $5.5 billion in property damage.
A hearty Hilo welcome was given to a group of 15 students, all girls, from the advanced hula classes at Lahainaluna High School. The young wahine from Maui performed on hula’s biggest stage Wednesday with just a few days of notice, although most performers, including those at Ho‘ike, prepare for months, even perhaps a year.
Lahaina was ground zero for the destructive fires, and kumu hula Eva Palakiko told the Tribune-Herald that about 90% of her students either lost their homes or lost access to the homes because of the fires.
The Papa Hula O Lahainaluna haumana, who are being hosted by the YMCA of Hilo, also will be on hand tonight, sitting in the halau section as spectators, as 13 young women vie to become Miss Aloha Hula, the most prestigious title a solo hula dancer can earn.
Only one of the those dancers will represent a Big Island halau — Chianti “Kiki” Kamailekaluhea Motta of Halau Ka Lehua Pua Kamaehu, under the direction of na kumu hula Kasie Puahala Kaleohano and Brandi Nohelani Barrett.
The first of three nights of competition in the “Super Bowl of Hula” starts at 6 p.m. tonight, with the entrance of the Royal Court at the Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium.
For those not fortunate enough to score a ticket to see the competition live, all three nights — Miss Aloha Hula tonight, Group Hula Kahiko (ancient hula) on Friday and Group Hula ‘Auana (modern hula) and the awards ceremony on Saturday night — will be telecast on K5, channels 6 and 1006 on Spectrum and Hawaiian Telcom in Hawaii, and online worldwide at MerrieMonarch.com.
In conjunction with the Merrie Monarch Festival, there is a temporary one-way traffic pattern on Kalanikoa Street in Hilo, fronting the stadium.
Traffic will be allowed to flow in the makai, or northerly, direction on Kalanikoa Street between Piilani Street to Kuawa Street during the festival. The one-way traffic pattern went into effect at noon Wednesday and will remain in effect 24 hours a day until 8 a.m. Sunday.
Motorists traveling in a westerly direction on Piilani Street will be allowed to turn right onto Kalanikoa Street. Left turns will also be allowed onto Kalanikoa Street from Piilani Street.
Both right and left turns will be allowed to one-way traffic on Kalanikoa Street to access the Hoolulu Complex and businesses in the area.
Regular two-way traffic will remain in effect on Manono, Kuawa and Piilani Streets.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.