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Tribute honors Naope

A special tribute to Uncle George Lanakilakeikiahiali'i Naope will take place 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. April 4 at the Ah Fook Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo.

Naope, co-founder of the Merrie Monarch hula festival, died in October after a lengthy illness. He was 81.

The tribute, to take place the same day as the festival, will begin with a video, “;This Is His Life—Uncle George.”; An opening pule will be followed by kahiko performances, a song by Cyril Pahinui and several 'auana numbers by halau from Uncle George's lineage.

“;We just want to make sure people understand who he was, what he was and how he got involved in music,”; said assistant festival director Luana Kawelu.

Naope was recognized as a “;Living Treasure”; in Hawaii in 2007 and won the National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006.

Merrie Monarch organizers are also reeling from two other recent losses in the hula community within 24 hours of one another, including Kawelu's mother, Dorothy “;Aunty Dottie”; Thompson, who was co-founder of the festival with Uncle George, and kumu hula Rae Fonseca, Naope's student.

See festival details at merriemonarch.com.

K-drama out on DVD

The Korean television drama “;Brilliant Legacy,”; a popular rags-to-riches tale, will be released on DVD on Tuesday.

“;Brilliant Legacy”; follows the story of a hard-working girl named Eun-sung whose father dies and leaves her his fortune. Eun-sung must contend with her duplicitous stepmother, who devises an evil plan to wrest away her inheritance.

The DVD set, from YA Entertainment LCC, includes all 28 episodes, English subtitles and more than two hours of special features. The list price is $99.99.

Korean TV drama fans can keep up to date on DVD releases by signing up for YA Entertainment's monthly e-newsletter at yaentertainment.com.