For kumu hula Robert Cazimero, of the award-winning Halau Na Kamalei, returning tomorrow to the hula mound for the Prince Lot Hula Festival is an opportunity to share his and his haumana's (students') artistry in a pristine historical site.

"I like the idea of sharing our culture in a noncompetitive situation. Competition puts on a different edge. (This festival) provides newer schools an opportunity to try it out, before moving on to the Merrie Monarch," he said.

For Manu Boyd, former member of Na Kamalei who fronts his own Halau O Ke 'A'ali'i Ku Makani, the chance to dance in the outdoor setting is a treat. "In competition, you're indoors; in concert, you're in a theater," he said. "At Prince Lot, you're surrounded by nature on the hula mound, Kamaipuupaa, which is dedicated specifically for hula."

They are two of a handful of kumu and halau who will take the grass stage for a day's worth of culture, with the theme "Na Wahine O Moanalua ... The Women of Moanalua." This is the 31st annual festival on the expansive Moanalua Gardens lawn, once the site of a botanical garden with rare trees and foliage.

"Over the past three decades, the Prince Lot Hula Festival has grown into the largest noncompetitive hula festivals in the state," said Alika Jamile, Moanalua Gardens Foundation president. Founders Frances "Patches" Damon Holt and Harriet "Haku" Damon Baldwin, kama'aina women with vision to perpetuate hula and mo'olelo (storytelling) traditions, will be honored.

The garden itself, which includes magnificent monkeypod trees, is worth a visit. The hula presentations are the cherry on the cake.

If attending, you should bring beach chairs and mats to sit on beneath the shade of the banyans; food and beverage booths provide nourishment.

Parking is limited, so carpooling is advised. A free shuttle will link visitors to the site from the parking lots of the Tripler Army Medical Center.

Boyd, a Hawaiian music and history authority, wanted to participate in his kumu's segment, too, but Cazimero told him "no need," said Boyd.

"So I will be watching; we follow him," Boyd said. "I'm really still part of Kamalei for nearly 30 years. But I don't look at this as a show. It's almost, from a protocol perspective, as if we were doing a traditional presentation of hula." The unstated mood, he said, is likened to olden days, when dancers and kumu "competed" for the favor of the ali'i minus the judges' scorecards.

Boyd even wrote a mele for his slot.

For Cazimero, the festival comes "at a busy time, when I'm hardly home, because of traveling," he said.

"But when asked to participate, I decided to dedicate (our portion) to the island of O'ahu. Poor thing, O'ahu is so overgrown and picked on; we need this, we need that, but we still have the most beautiful of all islands."

PRINCE LOT HULA FESTIVAL

8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday

Moanalua Gardens

Free

Parking at Tripler Army Medical Center, with free shuttle to site

839-5334

The day's schedule:

8:45 a.m. - Kamehameha Schools Men's Alumni Glee Club

9:15 a.m. - Opening ceremony

9:30 a.m. - Welcome by Kimo Kahoano

9:40 a.m. - Ka Pa Kui a Holo Lua organization, 'olohe (teacher) Mitchell Eli; demonstration of lua, the ancestor of hula

10:10 a.m. - Halau Na Kamalei, kumu hula Robert Cazimero

10:35 a.m. - Halau O Ke 'A'ali'i Ku Makani, kumu hula Manu Boyd

11 a.m. - Pupukahi I Ke Alo O Na Pua, kumu Michael Casupang

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. - Intermission

Noon - Royal Hawaiian Band

1 p.m. - Halau Hula O Maiki, kumu Coline Aiu

1:25 p.m. - Ka Hale I o Kahala, kumu Leimomi Maldonado

1:55 p.m. - Halau Hula O Ka Wehi Kau I Ka Pali, kumu Ku'uiponani Avilla

2:20 p.m. - Halau Ka Pa Hula O Kauanoe O Wa'ahila, kumu Maelia Lobenstein Carter

2:55 p.m. - Pua Ali'i 'Ilima, kumu Vicky Holt Takamine

3:20 p.m. - Closing; Kamehameha Schools Men's Alumni Glee Club