3rd Annual Ho’okupu Hula No Lana’i Festival

By Kristin Hashimoto 

On October 6-8 at Dole Park and the Four Seasons Convention Center, a Hawaiian cultural festival will include, song, dance, food, crafts and dancing. This event is a mix of free demonstrations and ticketed dance performances taking place at the convention center.

On Thursday October 6, at Dole Park from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Polihua, slack key guitar master Cyril Pahinui, and others will open the festivities for an evening of free family fun. Cultural demonstrations, games, walk through villages, crafts, food booths and more.

On Friday October 7, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Four Seasons Resort will host a day of workshops in the Kaunolu Ballroom. Lei making, hula genealogy, and slack key instruction will be a few of the workshops offered at the ballroom for a fee. Ipu (gourd instrument) making will be made available at the Holupoe Beach for a fee.

Later that day from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Dole Park will become International park.  Demonstrations of ethnic dances will represent the Micronesian, Japanese, Hawaiian, Filipino and Samoan cultures.

Again, food and craft booths, live music, demonstrations, displays, and village walkthroughs will be spread across the grounds of the park.

This festival concludes with the hula halau performances on Saturday October 8, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Four Seasons Convention Center. Most of Hawai’i is represented with O’ahu, Lana’i, Kaua’i, and Hawaii Island presenting dances. Hula halau from Okinawa, Japan, Mexico and France are also performing this night. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Keiki aged five years and younger get in free.

For more information visit www.hookupulanai.com, or call 808-258-7467.