Travel Briefs
By Star-Bulletin Staff
HULAFEST
South Point on the Big Isle is the place for hula enthusiasts to be on Saturday and next Sunday.
HulaFest will attract 20,000 fans to Big Isle village next weekend
The largest all-Hawaiian cultural festival on the Big Island, HulaFest, is expected to draw some 20,000 people on Labor Day weekend.The seventh annual event takes place 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Sunday in the historic and picturesque village of Waiohinu, between Naalehu and South Point in Kau. Hosted by He Kula Na Mea Hawaii (A School of Things Hawaiian), the festival features two days of nonstop Hawaiian entertainment, including hula, chant, music, food and crafts, plus a silent auction.
Some of the biggest names in Hawaiian music and hula will be featured. Headliners include Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning female vocalist Raiatea Helm; award-winning falsetto singers Uluwehi Guerrero, Cody Pueo Pata and Kai Smith from Maui; Molokai's Heli Silva; and more.
All of the Big Island's hula halau, as well as those from other islands, are invited to participate. Hula auana (modern hula) is featured on Saturday, and hula kahiko (ancient hula) will be performed next Sunday. A special treat this year will be an award-winning keiki hula halau, Halau Hula Na Maka o Uka.
HulaFest was started in 1997 as the only free hula festival on the island of Hawaii, and one of only two in the state. Since then it has grown from a one-day affair to a two-day hula celebration, drawing visitors from all over the world.
HulaFest, according to founder and organizer kumu hula Pekelo Day, is designed to perpetuate authentic Hawaiian culture in the true aloha spirit, meaning it's free for the people. This year's event will be honored again by the pageantry and protocol of a visit by the Aloha Week Royal Court next Sunday.
Parking shuttles will be available from the Naalehu ballpark and Kauahaao Church in Waiohinu. For more information, call 808-929-8700 or visit the HulaFest Web site at www.hekula.org.
