Hālau o Kekuhi opened the annual Merrie Monarch Festival Ho’ike, as per tradition
Video by David Corrigan
HILO – Wednesday night was the highly anticipated Ho’ike at the Merrie Monarch Festival. It’s the first big exhibition of hula on the Edith Kanaka‘ole Stadium stage and it’s free for fans, which means a huge line forms outside the building all day long as thousands wait to get a seat.
Here are the sights and sounds from the thrilling opening performance by Hālau o Kekuhi. The group traditionally opens the Ho’ike night. The dancers are under the direction of kumu hula Nalani Kanaka‘ole, the daughter of the late Edith Kanaka‘ole.
For More information
LINK: Hālau o Kekuhi
LINK: Merrie Monarch Festival
Isn’t it great that in this country you can practice your culture anytime you want? According to the sovereignty fringers their culture was “stolen”. I guess that’s not true!