ALOHA Merrie Monarch!

Wow! What a great celebration this year, more great hulas, beautiful crafts and a fantastic parade! Which I was lucky enough to watch this year from ringside seats in front of my new office at 159 Keawe st. in downtown Hilo, as we had received invitations from a neighboring design store to come enjoy the Spring fashion show festivities... (The Figaroa Collection, you just have to go in and visit with Jo, see (and feel) his recycled plastic clothes as well as his beautiful designs made from more prosaic materials.) We enjoyed wonderful pupus (thanks for the mimosas Jo! Yummy!), amazing music (Maika'i auntie!) and great shade canopy's (usually for the rain but Saturday it was for the gorgeous sunshine! Someone pass the aloe vera...) everyone made this parade so enjoyable...each Pa'u rider was more fabulously decked out than the last one, the school bands were awesome as always (love you honey (son #1)) and everyone shared so much aloha...

The festival runs from April 8th thru April 14th but it really gets jumpin on Wednesday April 11th with the public night of Hula at the Edith Kanaka'ole Stadium, people stand in line for hours to get seating and even then there is not room enough for all, but its worth it! There is nothing to compare with a live performance...even though you are sitting in those rock hard seats with the lights blinding you and the horrible acoustics making everything sound like its coming out of a tin can (heaven forbid it should rain, the noise of the rain on that roof can completely drown out the chanting and if it storms hard the rain can actually blow in onto the stage!), yes we REALLY need a new facility for this fantastic event, for criminies sake its a Tennis Stadium, it has stood in good stead but it is past time for a change OK, i am off my soap box now. Sorry bout that!

In all honesty going to a live performance of the Merrie Monarch is incredible, sitting there surrounded by family and friends of the dancers, feeling the soothing Hilo breezes, smelling the performers gorgeous plumeria leis and hanging around after the cameras have gone home, that's when the Kumu Hulas come on stage to Hula with their memories...beautiful...

Here are two slideshows you might enjoy; A large show and A small show.

If you are looking for tickets be aware that the are in seriously short supply and must be requested by the day after Christmas...don't wait until even the 27th, its to late by then, even if you get the application sent in time its not guaranteed you'll receive tickets, demand far outstrips the supply. But you can always go on the public night (also the free night, but don't let that put you off, it is often is one of the best performances and it all done for the public not for the judges, so the performers are really enjoying themselves and it shows!


Check out http://www.nanawaleestates.com/ for some featured listings... Mahalo and a hui ho!