This weekend was the 46th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival hula competition. To learn more about the Merrie Monarch Festival, click here and check out the post I wrote last year on the Merrie Monarch Festival hula competition.
I was very excited to watch the Merrie Monarch this year because I knew someone who was dancing. Friday night’s Kahiko competition has always been my favorite night of the Merrie Monarch. My friend’s hālau ~ Hālau Na Mamo O Pu’uanahulu ended up placing first in the Wahine Kahiko competition. Even if my friend was not dancing for this hālau, I would still have chosen their performance as my favorite. Below is a photo of her hālau. I was not able to embed the video of their performance and unfortunately none of the links I originally posted in this blog post work anymore.
(photo is from the Honolulu Advertiser of the Hula Kahiko competition~ link no longer works)
Saturday night, her hālau placed second in the Hula ‘Auana competition and her hālau placed first in the Wahine Overall competition. There were so many wonderful performance by both the Wahine (women) and Kane (men). I was thrilled for my friend that her hālau won. I know how hard she practiced all year long.
shave ice & gelato 
girasoli, you are so fortunate. You live in one incredibly special place, and you travel to another. The video of the performance is wonderful.
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Hi Girasoli, congrats to your friend on winning the Wahini Kahiko competition. I watched the video from the 2:52 mark and can see why they won. They were very good. Their timing together is so perfect. Loved what they wore too!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful and traditional hula competition in Hawaii.
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Lovely — hula dancing is so beautiful!
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So graceful, so beautiful, so harmonious — they make it look so easy. Thanks for the link – I’ve watched snippets for the last four years. Truly remarkable the dedication and heartwarming to know that part of Hawaiian culture is kept so vibrantly alive. I always marvel at the flowers and dress . menehune
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PS; Thanks for showing the kane :-) Menehune
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The performance was beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
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Girasoli, thanks for sharing that link. The performance was wonderful! How lucky you are to have been able to attend!
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Glad you all enjoyed it. We are lucky that the entire event is shown on TV here every year.
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I remember watching the competitions on TV when visiting the islands during my Easter breaks… used to do that a lot… maybe its time to make it a habit again… :)
You are lucky to be there.
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