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Big Island Visitors' Information - Big Island Hula Festival

Merrie Monarch Festival 2008

Congratulations To The Winners Of The 45rd Annual Merrie Monarch Festival
Hilo, Big Island, April 3 - April 5, 2008.

Judges

Cy M Bridges
Wayne Keahi Chang
Frank Kawaikapuokalani K Hewett
Hokulani Holt-Padilla
Nalani Kanaka'ole
Nathan Napoka
Victoria Holt Takamine

Overall Winner

Overall - Wahine

Overall - Kane

Miss Aloha Hula

Hula Kahiko - Wahine

Hula Kahiko - Kane

Hula 'Auana - Wahine

Hula 'Auana - Kane

The 46th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival (2009) hula competition
is scheduled for next year from April 16-18, 2009

Congratulations To The Winners Of The 44rd Annual Merrie Monarch Festival
Hilo, Big Island, April 8 - April 14, 2007.

Overall:
- Lokalia Montgomery Perpetual Trophy
- Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau $2000 Scholarship Award
- Sponsored trip to hula festival in Ikaho, Japan

Highest Combined Points
1,179 points Halau I Ka Wekiu
Na Kumu Hula Karl Veto Baker & Michael Nalanakila'ekolu Casupang
Honolulu, O'ahu

- Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau $1000 Scholarship Award

Second Highest Combined Points
1,178 points Hula Halau 'O Kamuela
Na Kumu Hula Kau'i Kamana'o & Kunewa Mook
Kalihi & Waimanalo, O'ahu

Overall - Kane
1st Place
1,179 points Halau I Ka Wekiu
Na Kumu Hula Karl Veto Baker & Michael Nalanakila'ekolu Casupang
Honolulu, O'ahu

2nd Place
1,132 points Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka La, Kumu Hula Kaleo Trinidad
Kapalama Uka, Honolulu, O'ahu

3rd Place
1,109 points Ka Pa Hula O Ka Lei Lehua
Kumu Hula Snowbird Puananiopaoakalani Bento
Honolulu, O'ahu

Miss Aloha Hula
1st Place
1,609 points Keonilei Ku'uwehiokala Kaniaupi'o Fairbanks
Ka Pa Hula 'O Kauanoe 'O Wa'ahila
Kumu Hula Maelia Loebenstein-Carter
Ka'imuki, Honolulu, O'ahu

2nd Place
1,527 points Aureana Kamali'io'iwalani Kim Len Tseu
Hula Halau 'O Kamuela, Na Kumu Hula Kau'i Kamana'o & Kunewa Mook
Kalihi & Waimanalo, O'ahu

3rd Place
1,512 points Erica Kau'ionalani Awana
Halau Mohala 'Ilima. Kumu Hula Mapuana de Silva
Ka'ohao, Kailua, O'ahu

4th Place
1,501 points Malia Ann Marks, Halau Hula Olana
Na Kumu Hula Olana A'i & Howard A'i
Pu'uloa, 'Aiea, O'ahu

5th Place
1,496 points Jhameel Lewalani Sachiko Duarte
Keolalaulani Halau 'Olapa O Laka, Kumu Hula Aloha Dalire
He'eia, Kane'ohe, O'ahu

Hawaiian Language Award
49 points (tiebreaker 68 points) Keonilei Ku'uwehiokala Kaniaupi'o Fairbanks
Ka Pa Hula 'O Kauanoe 'O Wa'ahila, Kumu Hula Maelia Loebenstein-Carter
Ka'imuki, Honolulu, O'ahu

Hula Kahiko - Wahine
1st Place
591 points (tiebreaker 822 points) Hula Halau 'O Kamuela
Na Kumu Hula Kau'i Kamana'o & Kunewa Mook
Kalihi & Waimanalo, O'ahu

2nd Place
591 points (tiebreaker 817 points) Halau Na Lei Kaumaka O Uka
Na Kumu Hula Napua Greig & Kahulu Maluo-Huber
Kula, Maui

3rd Place
585 points Halau Mohala 'Ilima
Kumu Hula Mapuana de Silva
Ka'ohao, Kailua, O'ahu

4th Place
582 points Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka La
Kumu Hula Kaleo Trinidad
Kapalama Uka, Honolulu, O'ahu

5th Place
581 points Ka Pa Hula 'O Kauanoe 'O Wa'ahila
Kumu Hula Maelia Loebenstein-Carter
Ka'imuki, Honolulu, O'ahu

Hula Kahiko - Kane
1st Place
568 points Halau I Ka Wekiu
Na Kumu Hula Karl Veto Baker & Michael Nalanakila'ekolu Casupang
Honolulu, O'ahu

2nd Place
555 points Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka La
Kumu Hula Kaleo Trinidad
Kapalama Uka, Honolulu, O'ahu

3rd Place
554 points Ka Pa Hula O Ka Lei Lehua
Kumu Hula Snowbird Puananiopaoakalani Bento
Honolulu, O'ahu

4th Place
534 points Halau O Ka Hanu Lehua
Kumu Hula Carlson Kamaka Kukona III
Honolulu and Kahului, O'ahu

Hula 'Auana - Wahine
1st Place
587 points Hula Halau 'O Kamuela
Na Kumu Hula Kau'i Kamana'o & Kunewa Mook
Kalihi & Waimanalo, O'ahu

2nd Place
583 points Halau Mohala 'Ilima
Kumu Hula Mapuana de Silva
Ka'ohao, Kailua, O'ahu

3rd Place
582 points Halau O Ke 'A'ali'i Ku Makani (Miss Aloha Hula, Wahine)
Kumu Hula Manu Boyd
Kane'ohe, O'ahu

4th Place
578 points Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka La
Kumu Hula Kaleo Trinidad
Kapalama Uka, Honolulu, O'ahu

5th Place
577 points Keolalaulani Halau 'Olapa O Laka
Kumu Hula Aloha Dalire
He'eia, Kane'ohe, O'ahu

Hula 'Auana - Kane
1st Place
611 points Halau I Ka Wekiu
Na Kumu Hula Karl Veto Baker & Michael Nalanakila'ekolu Casupang
Honolulu, O'ahu

2nd Place
577 points Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka La
Kumu Hula Kaleo Trinidad
Kapalama Uka, Honolulu, O'ahu

3rd Place
555 points Ka Pa Hula O Ka Lei Lehua
Kumu Hula Snowbird Puananiopaoakalani Bento
Honolulu, O'ahu

4th Place
551 points Academy of Hawaiian Arts
Kumu Hula Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu
Oakland, California

Facts on purchasing tickets by mail
Dates of the Hula competition
Thursday, April 12, 2007...............Miss Aloha Hula
Friday, April 13, 2007...................Group/Hula Kahiko
Saturday, April 14, 2007...............Group/Hula Auana

Reseserved seating $15 - $25, general admission $5 (Miss Aloha Hula), 1 set (Fri + Sat) $10

Maximum number of tickets that can be purchased are limited to two (2) sets per person.

Payment: Only money orders and cashier's checks will be accepted and made payable to Merrie Monarch Festival.

Mail Orders: Your ticket request should include payment, self-addressed stamped lega size envelope and addressed to:
Merrie Monarch Festival, c/o Hawaii Naniloa Hotel, 93 Banyan Dr, Hilo, HI 96720

Request, postmarked December 26, 2007, will be accepted. Requests postmarked prior Dec 26, 2007, will not be accepted. Request will be worked on and sent back the last week in January or beginning of February.

Merrie Monarch Festival ticket information and more www.merriemonarchfestival.org
More information on the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival www.kalena.com/merriemonarch.htm
Enjoy photos, video clips & music www.sonnyching.com/gallery_wahine.htm performed by Kumu Hula Sonny Ching's halau.
Buy Merrie Monarch Festival Hula videos or DVDs at www.islandheritage.com

Here are definitions for some Hawaiian language and hula terms:

Alaka'i - instructor; often used when referring to kumu hula's (teacher) assistant
Auana - modern version of the hula
Halau - Long house for canoes or hula instruction; hula school
Ho`i - exit (dancers can chant or have a song as they exit)
Ipuheke - gourd instrument without a top
Kahiko - traditional version of the hula
Ka`i - entrance (dancers can chant or have a song as they enter)
Kala`au - stick dancing
Kane - man or men
Kumu Hula - hula teacher
Mele - song
Oli - chant
Pahu - drum
Pahu Puniu - thigh drum
Pu'ili - dancing implement made with bamboo
 `Uli`uli - gourd instrument with filled with seeds and topped with colorful feathers
Wahine - woman or women

Merrie Monarch Festival event
The annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in Hilo, Big Island of Hawaii, is a week long festival of cultural events including Hawaii’s most prestigious hula competitions at Edith Kanaka’ole stadium. The hula festival takes place the week after Easter. It begins with a Ho’olaule’a on Moku Ola (Coconut Island) on Easter Sunday in Hilo with lots of music, food and fun. On Wednesday there is a free hula exhibition night at the stadium that begins at 6:30pm. Thursday is the solo Miss Aloha Hula competition, where each dancer performs both hula kahiko (ancient hula) and hula `auana (modern hula). Friday and Sat are the group Kahiki (ancient) and Auana (modern) hula competition. A grand parade takes place through Hilo town Sat morning.

The Merrie Monarch Festival has led to a renaissance of the Hawaiian culture that is being passed on from generation to generation. The festival includes art exhibits, craft fairs, demonstrations, performances, a parade that emphasizes the cultures of Hawaii, and a three-day hula competition that has received worldwide recognition for its historic and cultural significance.

In preparation of the Merrie Monarch Festival, hula studios and instructors in Hawaii and on the U.S. Mainland hold classes, workshops, and seminars throughout the year to teach the art of hula, the meaning of Hawaiian chants and songs, the Hawaiian language, the making of Hawaiian clothing and crafts, and the history of the Hawaiian people.

History of the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival
The Merrie Monarch Festival began in 1964 and has evolved into what is now considered to be the world's most prestigious hula competition. The festival is named in honor of King David Kalakaua, the last king of the Hawaiian islands, whose coronation in 1883 included public displays of hula, which had long been buried under rules imposed by Hawaiian missionaries. Kalakaua ruled for seventeen years. His reign was marked by a resurgence in Hawaiian culture, music and included numerous public performances of hula. Because of his love of dance and music, Kalakaua was nicknamed, "the Merrie Monarch." In his memory and in celebration of Hawaiian culture, dance and music, the Merrie Monarch Festival is held each year.

41st Annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, April 2004
From article by Wanda A.Adams, Asssistant Features Editor, Honolulu Advertiser, by permission of Honolulu Advertiser

“It’s always a little chilly in the evenings at Kanaka'ole Stadium, the barrel-shaped open-air stadium that houses the annual Merrie Monarch Festival hula competition. But this year, some of the chill may come from a breath of change wafting through the Merrie Monarch.
Four first-time halau will compete in the 41st annual competition, three of them led by younger or less tried kumu hula. Five of the seven judging positions have turned over. And, for the TV audience, two new commentators will be introduced, though both of them are intimately acquainted with that scarred plywood stage.
There are, in effect, two Merrie Monarch Hula Festivals: the one on TV and the one in the stadium.
Both take place this week. Both will attract capacity audiences.
But the two are as different as a flower lei and a well-made crochet lei — equally beautiful and much appreciated, but different.
There's the show seen by most of Hawai'i, and many in the world watching via streaming video: three evenings of hula competition broadcast by KITV-4, enlivened by commentary, interviews and producer David Kalama's features on Hawaiian cultural themes.
And there is the actual event, defined by subtle factors most viewers don't even imagine: the solemn, silent and slow entry each evening of the royal court, the pleasant babble of conversation that rises and then is abruptly cut off as the next performance is announced, the world-class people-watching and eavesdropping.
"The one part you cannot capture at home is really the excitement of the audience. And the smell — the flowers, the ferns, the maile. It just takes you to a place where you can envision yourself up in the mountains; the scent just carries through the stadium," says longtime judge Noenoelani Zuttermeister-Lewis.
Watchers at home have all the comforts: pupu, an easy chair, the bathroom just steps away. They record and play back, indulge in their own commentary, channel-flip, make bets on who will win and even, in some households, pass out ballots and try to out-guess the judges.
Then there is the real-life festival in Hilo: a week of rehearsals, the Kanaka'ole 'ohana's extraordinary free Wednesday night ho'ike (hula performance), craft fairs, a Saturday parade, traffic jams, booked-up hotels, overcrowded restaurants, flocks of Japanese hula afficionados and three nights of intense, sense-saturating hula.
But viewers at home may know more about the dances than those on the scene. Because what those in the stadium hear during breaks is ... nothing. They spend the intervals gossiping and playing fashion police, standing in the sloooooow lines for food and the bathroom, buying T-shirts and posters or — as the hour grows late — sitting numbly, overwhelmed by the fragrance of flowers, the mellifluous sound of mele and 'oli and the thrumming of feet against the bare wood stage. 'Okoles grow numb and ache from the famously hard metal folding chairs and bleachers.
And yet who would pass up a chance to experience the real thing? Almost no one, which is why the stadium's 2,700 or so spectator seats sell out months in advance.
The success of the event, says Zuttermeister-Lewis, is the vision of longtime Merrie Monarch executive director Dorothy "Auntie Dottie" Thompson, who last year began to pass some of the duties to her daughter, assistant director Luana Kawelu, due to ill health.
Thompson took a small, obscure event in a town known mainly for its excessive annual rainfall and attraction for tsunami and made it the most prestigious hula event in Hawai'i. She did so, Zuttermeister-Lewis believes, by focusing on the hula and the language, avoiding excess commercialism and seeking the advice of culturally rooted kupuna including Zuttermeister-Lewis's mother, the late kumu hula Kau'i Zuttermeister, as well as Edith Kanaka'ole, 'Iolani Luahine and others.
"She got the blessing of the older generation, and that was the right thing to do," said Zuttermeister-Lewis. "That's what I admire about her. She just does what she believes is the right thing to do, and it is because of her wisdom and her honesty that the halau keep coming back."
Zuttermeister-Lewis says she expects her new job to be easier than the one she played as judge.
"There are many times when people watching don't understand exactly what happened, why we voted the way we did. They think it's favoritism," she said. "All I can say is it's a very hard job. No one can pay you enough to sit in that chair for hours or make up to you all the time you spend reading the information sheets (detailed descriptions of the song, dance, adornments filed by kumu hula in advance). There's a lot of work that goes into this. And nobody who hasn't done it can know how much the halau sacrifice to be there, either."
Read entire article http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Apr/11/il/il01a.html

Vacation guests at our Aloha Vacation Cottages are privileged to have Merrie Monarch Festival videos at their Hawaii vacation cottage for viewing at their convenience. Just watching the videos will be an unforgettable experience.

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