HONOLULU (KHON2) – August is always a great month.
Its always hot and humid, but put that stuff aside because there are a lot of community events that take place throughout this month, and one that has been happening for nearly a decade is coming up once again this Sunday at Moanalua Gardens.
It’s called Hoʻolau Kanaka, an annual event put on Hālau Hula Nā Mamo o Puʻuanahulu and I am with Kumu Hula Lopaka Igarta-De Vera.
Hula, music, more vendors and so forth.
What can we expect and what is new this year?
“What is new this year is that we have nearly 80 vendors that are coming in that will be sharing food, jewelry, clothing, books, whatever you can think of. If you went to Made In Hawaiʻi, think of that,” says Igarta-De Vera.
“Also, we have a lio coming in, or a horse. We are going to be honoring and recognizing the art of pā’ū so Leiala Cook is going to come and she is going to show how to tie the women to do hair, the protocols, and then also how to mount a horse, how to ride the horse, how to treat the horse. So, its really exciting especially because Kumu Nui Sonny Ching, myself and quite a few of our Mamos are pā’ū riders.”
I also know this is a very significant event and year for your as well.
“Yes. Very significant. We are honoring my sister Kumu Hula Lahela Igarta who we lost to cancer 8 months ago,” says Igarta-De Vera.
“But, also not just her but Joanne Kaina, Sam Kaina’s wife. Just recently we have lost Gobbles Viernes, one of our musicians to cancer. We lost one of our haumāna, Hazel. So, anyone who has lost someone to cancer or lost someone, we are dedicating the festival to them.”
It’s the 9th annual this year, and I remember being at the first, seeing how things have grown over the years.
What was the catalyst and the seed that started this in the first place, all those years ago?
“The catalyst was we were traveling in Japan,” says Igarta-De Vera.
“We went on tour and this is the beginning of Facebook and videos and pictures online for everyone to see and we were performing with numerous hālau that had won Merrie Monarch and we were on tour. You were part of the tour, I remember, and we were performing and we came home and everyone was excited. And I had one beautiful kupuna wahine came up to me and congratulated us on how beautiful, ‘but how come you folks don’t do this home here for our kanaka?’ That struck home and then when you think about it, we really should. We should do this for our people and go outside of Hawaiʻi. So, this event was thought of by doing what we do in Japan or anywhere else, but bring it back home for us kanaka, our kamaʻāina as well as malihini.”
You can never have too much Hawaiian culture, and learning and exposure to our practices, so that is what this weekend is all about.
It is going to be on Sunday, the 9th annual Hoʻolau Kanaka event put on by Hālau Hula Nā Mamo o Puʻuanahulu.
It will begin at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.
But, of course, when there is so much activity, it’s hard to go shopping.
So, the craft fair starts half an hour earlier at 8:30 a.m.
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Tickets are still available and can also be purchased there.
For all the information, click here.