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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Hawaii Hula Festival

Our Monday post was definitely different but the spectacular humpback whale photo can still be considered as our 'Hawaii Photo of the Week'. Here is what we had prepared for yesterday but then we decided to come full circle with the whale topic. Hope those exciting whale stories made you book a whale watch for your Hawaii vacation, which is one of the best things to do in Hawaii. For those Hawaii visitors who love the hula and the hula dancers of Hawaii, our today's article might give them an incentive to plan a Big Island Spring vacation in order to visit one of the biggest Hawaii events, the Hula Festival in Hilo!

As the 45th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival (2008) hula competition in Hilo Hawaii is coming up - attracting thousands of visitors to Hilo each year - we decided to post another of Jennifer's beautiful photos of Hawaiian hula girls plus tell you a little bit more about the biggest hula festival in the world. This time it is scheduled for April 3-5, 2008, which is actually one week later than usual. Normally, the Hawaii hula festival takes place one week after Easter. This date shift for 2008 was done in order to accommodate another major event in Hilo.

Hawaii hula halauThe 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 with performances of ancient and modern hula by single dancers and groups (halaus).

The tickets for the Hilo Hula Festival are sold out out way ahead of the time. However, if you are on your Big Island vacation at this time, your might want to drive to Hilo - it's on your way to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park anyway - reserve a Hilo hotel and attend Wednesday's free hula exhibition night at the stadium that begins at 6:30pm. The 3-day festival includes Hawaiian art exhibits, craft fairs, demonstrations, performances, a parade, which is fun for the entire family

A great way to see what to expect at the Hawaii Hula Festival is a video or DVD from IslandHeritage My favorite one is the one from the 2003 Hula Festival, which one can buy at $9.99 (great price!). Sorry I did not watch the 2007 video, whose price is a bit on the high end but might come down after the 2008 Merrie Monarch Hula Festival.

Here is a short video clip with the perfect music by my favorite award winning Kumu Hula Sonny Ching's halau to get you in the mood and excitement of live hula performances at the festival. Turn up the volume of your speakers for best reception of Hawaii chants!

Enjoy your Hawaii vacation and the Hawaii Hula Festival 2008. Aloha Pua Hawaii Vacations

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