Hula Festival to Honor Emma Farden Sharpe

September 9, 2015, 10:36 AM HST
* Updated September 11, 1:44 AM

Listen to this Article
1 minuteLoading Audio... Article will play after ad...

Emma Farden Sharpe Hula Festival 2013. Photo credit: Hideharu Yoshikawa.

By Maui Now Staff

Maui will honor renowned Lahaina Kumu Hula Emma Farden Sharpe on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., at the Emma Farden Sharpe Hula Festival under the Lahaina Banyan Tree.

The festival will celebrate hula—‘auana (new) and kahiko (old)—with a day of exhibits, workshops, artisans and a lifetime achievement award dedicated to a pillar in the hula community.

SWIPE LEFT OR RIGHT

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD

“Aunty Emma” made it her mission to perpetuate of hula and Hawaiian culture by creating many events and sitting on numerous community boards and organizations. One of these projects was the Emma Farden Sharpe Hula Festival, which started in conjunction with Na Mele O Maui, a choir contest between Maui county schools, grades K-12, and continues today.

Aunty Emma, one of the founders of Na Mele, added on a hula festival in her name, but it was phased out in early 1990s.

The return of the event this year is intended to perpetuate her legacy as a Lahaina Treasure.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD

The opening ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. followed by hula performances:

Hālau Hula Kamaluokaleihulu under the direction of Kahulu Maluo
Pukalani Hula Hale under the direction of Hi‘ilei Maxwell-Juan
The Lahaina-Honolua Senior Citizens Club
Napili Kai Foundation
Na Pua O Kapi’olani Hula Studio, under the direction of Emma Farden Sharpe’s grand-niece, Kathy Holoaumoku Ralar
Special performance by members of ‘Ohana Farden.

Festival Highlights

9:30 a.m.: Kumu Hula Kathy Ralar will be teaching a hula workshop. Make reservations by calling (808) 264-8779.
3 p.m.: Honoring Kumu Ualani Maka’ike Calleja for her dedication to hula.
4 p.m.: The closing ceremony will commence shortly after 4 p.m.; the planning committee invites all Sharpe’s former students to gather and dance the ‘ohana Farden’s classic, Puamana.

The festival will also include lei making, keiki activities, and Maui-made crafters and artisans under the Banyan Tree from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD

For more information about the festival, call (808) 264-8779.

“Hula is the language of the heart, and therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.” – David Kalakaua.