Since the first event in 1964, the Merrie Monarch Festival has been a vibrant celebration of hula and Hawaiian culture. Excitement builds during a week of festivities, including parades, performances and Hawaiian art fairs, and reaches its peak during three nights of hula competitions. It’s when the quiet town of Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island, where […]
Aloha Friday Picks is a weekly news blog that will run every Friday and features three things we recommend you do, try or experience over the weekend. Send us tips at media@hawaiimagazine.com. Ho boy, grab on to something because it is going to be a busy weekend. The 4th of July, Merrie Monarch Festival performance live
We chat with former Miss Aloha Hulas Natalie Ai Kamauʻu (1990), TeHani Gonzado (2000), Malia Petersen Arakaki (2002), Māhealani Mika Hirao-Solem (2010) and Manalani (English) Souza (2013) as the 2021 Merrie Monarch Festival competition airs today through Sunday. When the 2020 Merrie Monarch Hula Festival was officially canceled last March, the impact on the
When I first met Simply Sisters’ owner and designer, Regina “Lola” Miller in 2014 at the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, we instantly bonded over our shared love of hula, the festival and supporting Hawaiʻi’s thriving creative community. It was Merrie Monarch, after all, and I was making the craft fair rounds for all my Hawaiian
Aloha Friday Picks is a weekly news blog that will run every Friday and features three things we recommend you do, try or experience over the weekend. Send us tips at media@hawaiimagazine.com. Don’t have any weekend plans? Thinking about just resting and relaxing the weekend away? Well, that does sound nice, but if you want
The Merrie Monarch Festival is back this year—and competition starts today in Hilo. There is one change: It will be broadcasted on television—meaning no spectators—due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The performances and announcement of winners will be broadcast on July 1 to 3. In 2020 festival president Luana Kawelu made the crucial decision to cancel
After three full days of competition, the 2019 Merrie Monarch Festival is officially over. Twenty-four hula halau (hula schools) competed in auana (modern) and kahiko (traditional) styles of hula, and schools were split into wahine (women) and kane (men) divisions. A panel of judges reviewed each performance and assigned points to each halau using the Merrie Monarch judging sheet before announcing who
If you didn’t get a ticket to watch the Merrie Monarch Festival, Hawaii’s premier hula competition, don’t feel bad, not many of us did. But just because you aren’t going to be able to see the hula halau (hula schools) perform in-person doesn’t mean you can’t see it at all. Below is the schedule of events for the three
These are the Hawaii festivals that people travel from all corners of the world to attend. Whether it’s a legendary hula festival or a block party in honor of Hawaii’s favorite canned meat, you won’t find these unique gatherings anywhere else in the world. Here are the festivals and celebrations of Island culture our readers
And that’s a wrap. With the 55th Merrie Monarch Festival coming to a close last night, we’ve seen three full days of excellent hula performances and competition. With 24 of Hawaii’s top halau hula (troupes) competing to win an assortment of titles, and 12 female contestants striving to be named 2018 Miss Aloha Hula, it’s
Hilo becomes fashion central during Merrie Monarch week, as people take to the streets in their favorite Hawaiian attire, so we sent Hawaii Island photographer Dino Morrow to snap photos of some of the best style moments around Edith Kanakaole Stadium. Queen Liliuokalani-proud in this statement T-shirt and elegant lei hulu lauhala papale (feathered hat). Hawaii’s
The chants about Panaewa Forest, which lies between Kilauea and the ocean on Hawaii Island, describe it as having been created by the violent force of Pele and healed by Hiiaka. It became a lush rain forest, with towering ohia lehua trees and red lehua rain. The environment was rich with every plant needed for healing
