22 Sunday, April 1, 2018 Hawaii Tribune-Herald
2018 Merrie Monarch Festival
WITH THE SPIRIT OF HOKULE‘A
Original crew will
be honored during
Ho‘ike on Wednesday
Even though it’s not
a part of the Merrie
Monarch’s hula competition,
Ho‘ike, the free
Wednesday night exhibition
of hula and music, always
packs the Edith Kanaka‘ole
Multi-Purpose Stadium.
There are no tickets for
the event, which starts at
5:50 p.m. with the entrance
of the Merrie Monarch Royal
Court, and admission is on
a first come, first served
basis. Folks line up early
in the morning to get the
best seats in the house.
This is the first Merrie
Monarch Festival since
the Polynesian Voyaging
Society’s double-hulled
canoe Hokule‘a returned
home from its three-year,
42,000-mile Malama Honua
open-ocean global journey,
and festival President Luana
Kawelu promises Ho‘ike will
be “extra special this year.”
“Last year when the
Hokule‘a came in on Oahu,
when they had so many
thousands of people on
shore watching it come in, I
was at my daughter Kathy’s
house watching. And I was
so touched and so proud of
what they accomplished, I
By JOHN BURNETT
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
The
Hokule‘a
sails on
the East
River in
2016 in
New York
City.
Associated
See HO‘IKE Page 23 Press
Halau O Kekuhi at the 2017 Ho‘ike.
HOLLYN JOHNSON/Tribune-Herald