Three day Honolulu Festival celebrates Pacific nations
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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A three-pronged cultural celebration themed "Pacific Renaissance" assembles art, music and dance of Hawai'i, Japan and Pacific nations in a mammoth Honolulu Festival, today through Sunday. About 5,000 participants from Japan, Taiwan, Australia and the Philippines join Island artisans and performers in a lavish exchange of heritage and good will.
Public events Saturday and Sunday unfold at three sites: the Hawai'i Convention Center, Ala Moana Center and the work-in-progress Waikiki Beach Walk site on Lewers Street and Kalia Road.
(Today's activities are by invitation only and are largely educational, targeting school groups.)
The festival will attract both local residents and visitors to Hawai'i with its mix of culture and performance artists. Exhibitors and crafters, local as well as visiting, will show and sell their wares at the convention center.
Amid the mounds of special programming, you'll find a bit of celebrity (Raiatea Helm, one of the Isles' top singers, sings twice; teen golf wizard Tadd Fujikawa will be in a parade — without his clubs) and Australian aborigine dances by Descendance.
Crowd pleasers? Probably the eye-filling mikoshi (portable floats), a highlight at the Sunday parade through Waikiki, from Saratoga Road via Kalakaua Avenue to Monsarrat Avenue, which also features about 2,000 marchers, beauty queens, bands and more.
Bring a camera, because there will be lots of photo ops; and something to sit on because the parade is a long one, slated from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday.
HONOLULU FESTIVAL CALENDAR OF EVENTS
SATURDAY
Hawai'i Convention Center
10 a.m.-5 p.m. — Cultural displays, crafts
10 a.m. — Tahiti Nui International
10:35 a.m. — Philippines Dance Troupe
11:10 a.m. — Yamagata Minyo Mutsumikai
11:35 a.m. — Mainichi Bunka Center
12:10 p.m. — Raiatea Helm
12:45 p.m.— Music Line Kotomu
1:20 p.m. — Puanani Kobayashi Hula School
1:55 p.m. — Suga-Ren
2:20 p.m. — Lei Lani Hula Studio
2:55 p.m. — Descendance
3:30 p.m. — Japan Nankin Tamasudare Association
4:05 p.m. — Studio Hoaloha
4:40 p.m. — Yasuco Shimizu and Her Fellow Singers
7 p.m. — Entertainment
7:50 p.m — Opening ceremony
8:15 p.m.— Best contribution awards
9 p.m. — Finale
Ala Moana Center — Centerstage
10 a.m. — Music Line Kotomu
10:35 a.m. — Hana Hano Hula Oita
11 a.m. — KMI Kitsuke party
11:35 a.m. — Studio Hoaloha
12:10 p.m. — Lei Aloha Ayako Hula Hui
12:45 p.m. — Republic of China (Taiwan) Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
1:20 p.m.— Tsugarushamisen Shihoukai Kokusai Kouryu
1:40 p.m. — Samurai Spirits Furin Kazan Karate-do
1:55 p.m. — Yasuco Shimizu and Her Fellow Singers
2:30 p.m. — Korean Christ United Methodist Church
3:05 p.m. — Kaiulani Hula Community
3:25 p.m. — Hui O Na Pu Makamae
4 p.m. — Hula Circle Le'ale'a
4:35 p.m.— Eun-Sun Jung Korean Dance Studio
5:10 p.m. — Okayama Gakugeikan High School chorus and performance club
5:40 p.m. — Lei Lani Hula Studio
6:15 p.m. — Japan Nankin Tamasudare Association
6:50 p.m. — Kansai Student Band Federation
Waikiki Beach Walk
10 a.m. — Descendance
10:35 a.m. — Hula Circle Le'ale'a
11:10 a.m. — Okayama Gakugeikan High School chorus and performance club
11:40 a.m. — Hui O Na Pu Makamae
12:15 p.m.— Mikoshiba Group
12:50 p.m. — Tsugaru No Saiten Hirosaki Neputa Shouki
1:25 p.m. — Philippines Dance Troupe
2:05 p.m. — Nagauta, Mainichi Bunka Center
SUNDAY
Hawai'i Convention Center
10 a.m.-3 p.m. — Displays, crafts
10 a.m. — Asomikai
10:35 a.m. — Tsugaru No Saiten Hirosaki Neputa Shouki
11:10 a.m. — Kashiwashi Minyo Renmei
11:45 a.m. — NHK Mito Komaki Kei Hula Halau
12:20 p.m. — Raiatea Helm
12:55 p.m. — Chum-Sa Rang traditional Korean dance
1 p.m. — Setagaya Aloha
2:05 p.m — Republic of China (Taiwan) Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
Ala Moana Center — Centerstage
10 a.m. — Keiki Hula Hawai'i
11:05 a.m. — Tonosama-Ren
11:40 a.m. — Puanani Kobayashi Hula School
12:15 p.m. — Philippines Dance Troupe
12:50 p.m. — Mikoshiba Group
1:15 p.m.— Descendance
1:50 p.m. — NHK Mito Komaki Kei Hula Halau
2:25 p.m. — Suga-Ren
2:50 p.m.— Na Puakea O Kalani Kitajima Hula Studio
Waikiki Beach Walk
10 a.m. — Yutaka Hula Halau
10:35 a.m. — Japan Nankin Tamasudare Association
11:10 a.m. — Saitama Ryujin Matsuri Kai
11:45 a.m. — Kansai Student Band Federation
12:20 p.m. — Republic of China (Taiwan) Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
12:55 p.m. — Kashiwashi Minyo Renmei
1:30 p.m. — Japan Nankin Tamasudare Association
2:05 p.m. — Kaiulani Hula Community
2:25 p.m. — Tonosama Ren
3 p.m. — Samurai Spirits Furin Kazan Karate-do
3:15 p.m. — Tsugarushamisen Shihoukai Kokusai Kouryu
3:30 p.m. — Iki Iki Aloha Hula Circle
Waikiki Grand Parade
4:30-8 p.m., Kalakaua Avenue, from Saratoga Road to Monsarrat Avenue
The parade unfolds in three waves:
Phase 1 — Hawai'i, with government groups, school marching bands, cultural organizations. Look for Tadd Fujikawa, golf phenom; Cherry Blossom Queen Heather Suehiro; Mayor Mufi Hannemann; Narcissus Festival Queen Jessica Lau
Phase 2 — Performances by visiting Japanese and Chinese ensembles and organizations
Phase 3 — Shinko/Yaguruma Rengo, with numerous mikoshi organizations from Honolulu and Japan
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.
