Kohala Coast Vacation Rentals

Merrie Monarch Hula Festival Hilo Hawaii

Visit the Big Island Hula Festival in Hilo March 30 - April 5, 2008

Merrie Monarch Festival ticket information and more www.merriemonarchfestival.org

More information on the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival www.kalena.com/merriemonarch.htm

Enjoy photos, video clips & music www.sonnyching.com/gallery_wahine.htm performed by award winning Kumu Hula Sonny Ching's halau. Hula photos with permission of Sonny Ching.

Buy Merrie Monarch Festival Hula videos or DVDs at www.islandheritage.com

The 45th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival (2008) hula competition in Hilo Hawaii is scheduled for this year from April 3-5, 2008 which is one week later than usual. This date shift was done in order to accommodate another major event in Hilo.

Hilo vacation rental accommodations for Big Island Hula Festival

Purchasing tickets for Hula Festival by mail

Dates of the Hula competition
Thursday, April 3, 2008..........Miss Aloha Hula
Friday, April 4, 2008...................Group/Hula Kahiko
Saturday, April 5, 2008...............Group/Hula Auana

Reseserved seating $15 - $25, general admission $5 (Miss Aloha Hula), 1 set (Fri + Sat) $10

Maximum number of tickets that can be purchased are limited to two (2) sets per person.

Payment: Only money orders and cashier's checks will be accepted and made payable to Merrie Monarch Festival.

Mail Orders: Your ticket request should include payment, self-addressed stamped legal size envelope and addressed to:
Merrie Monarch Festival, c/o Hawaii Naniloa Hotel, 93 Banyan Dr, Hilo, HI 96720

Requests, postmarked December 26, 2007, will be accepted. Requests postmarked prior Dec 26, 2006, will not be accepted.

Merrie Monarch Festival event

The 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. The hula festival takes place the week after Easter. It begins with a Ho’olaule’a on Moku Ola (Coconut Island) on Easter Sunday in Hilo with lots of music, food and fun. On Wednesday there is a free hula exhibition night at the stadium that begins at 6:30pm. Thursday is the solo Miss Aloha Hula competition, where each dancer performs both hula kahiko (ancient hula) and hula `auana (modern hula). Friday and Sat are the group Kahiki (ancient) and Auana (modern) hula competition. A grand parade takes place through Hilo town Sat morning.

The Merrie Monarch Festival has led to a renaissance of the Hawaiian culture that is being passed on from generation to generation. The festival includes art exhibits, craft fairs, demonstrations, performances, a parade that emphasizes the cultures of Hawaii, and a three-day hula competition that has received worldwide recognition for its historic and cultural significance.

In preparation of the Merrie Monarch Festival, hula studios and instructors in Hawaii and on the U.S. Mainland hold classes, workshops, and seminars throughout the year to teach the art of hula, the meaning of Hawaiian chants and songs, the Hawaiian language, the making of Hawaiian clothing and crafts, and the history of the Hawaiian people.

History of the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival

The Merrie Monarch Festival began in 1964 and has evolved into what is now considered to be the world's most prestigious hula competition. The festival is named in honor of King David Kalakaua, the last king of the Hawaiian islands, whose coronation in 1883 included public displays of hula, which had long been buried under rules imposed by Hawaiian missionaries. Kalakaua ruled for seventeen years. His reign was marked by a resurgence in Hawaiian culture, music and included numerous public performances of hula. Because of his love of dance and music, Kalakaua was nicknamed, "the Merrie Monarch." In his memory and in celebration of Hawaiian culture, dance and music, the Merrie Monarch Festival is held each year.

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