6 Sunday, April 1, 2018 Hawaii Tribune-Herald
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2018 Merrie Monarch Festival
The Magic of Merrie Monarch! ~~~
Best Breakfast
Hilo Hosts 55 Years of
21
years
in a row!
47 Years!
Wednesday night’s Ho‘ike, a free
exhibition event of hula and Pacific
dance at the Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-
Purpose Stadium and precursor to the
three-night hula competition fondly
known as the “Super Bowl of hula.”
Kumu hula Snowbird Bento and
her halau, Ka Pa Hula O Ka Lei
Lehua, will take the lead in honoring
the seafarers. Also featured at
Ho‘ike will be kumu hula Robert
Cazimero and Na Kamalei, the overall
competition winners in 2015.
At least one kumu hula, Kaleo
Trinidad, whose halau, Ka Leo
O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka La,
won the overall and kane division
overall titles in 2014, will honor
Hokule‘a and Hawaii’s voyaging
traditions in the group competition
Friday and Saturday nights.
“What’s motivating us is the efforts
by Hokule‘a and the fact that they
were sailing around the world to help
people think about sustainability, to
think about the world as an island
with finite resources,” Trinidad said.
There are 24 halau entered and 29
group performances — nine kane and
20 wahine — on Friday and Saturday
night, and 12 wahine vying Thursday
to become Miss Aloha Hula.
The field is loaded, with Ka La
‘Onohi Mai o Ha‘eha‘e under the
direction of co-kumu hula Tracie
and Keawe Lopes, last year’s overall
group champions, looking to repeat.
They became the first wahine halau to
win the coveted Lokalia Montgomery
Perpetual Trophy since 2011, when
Maui’s Halau Ke‘alaokamaile, under
the direction of kumu hula Keali‘i
Reichel, took home hula’s top award.
Halau Hi‘iakainamakalehua under
the direction of co-kumu hula Robert
Ke‘ano Ka‘upu, a Hilo native, and
Mauian Lono Padilla, took last year’s
wahine kahiko title and produced
Festival From page 4
Tribune-Herald file photo
Oahu halau Kawai’ulaokala competes in the 2017 Merrie Monarch Festival in
See FESTIVAL Page 8 the kahiko division.
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