Easter weekend, pre-dawn at Maui's Honokahua, aka D.T. Fleming Beach, dozens of people will find themselves standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers, soon to be new friends. Some are Hawaiian cultural specialists, some are first-time visitors to the Islands, others are folks who live just up the road. Everyone is invited to chant, to ask the sun to rise, bringing blessings for the day and for the annual Celebration of the Arts at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Maui, April 10 to 12.

The coaches, celebration leader Clifford Nae'ole and kumu hula Hokulani Holt, quietly invite everyone to share a hi'uwai, an ancient ritual used as a cleansing and connecting experience allowing everyone to be pono, or right, with the Earth and the world. Nae'ole says, "Please join me in the ocean. Wade in to your knees, or dive in, do only what makes you feel comfortable. Please do this in silence. It is a time to let go, to forgive, to ask for success in gathering wisdom."

Exiting the ocean, we gather close. The kumu begin the chant, "E Ala E, arise sun. We are waiting for you to give us the day." The Native Hawaiians, and others in the group who study the host language, know the words. The bankers and teachers and plumbers — the rest of us — figure out quickly that if we stand close to native speakers, the words will come easier. Newbies are timid at first. Nae'ole's voice encourages, "Don't be so shy, stand up tall, take a deep breath, now, let me hear you!"

Amazed to hear the passion in our voices, drenched in sunlight and chilly ocean water, we are part of an ancient ritual, celebrated in modern times.

So begins 17th annual Celebration of the Arts. The theme of the 2009 event is "Hawai'i, he 'aina o na anuenue — Hawai'i, land of rainbows." Nae'ole, cultural specialist for the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, describes it as being "like the colors of the rainbow, each hue could easily represent an attitude, an experience, a blessing that evolves each day for us to admire."

WEAVING 101

Storytellers, chanters, painters, carvers, craftsmen, hula teachers and dancers gather to teach what it has taken many of them a lifetime to learn. They share their mana'o, their knowledge. Master craftswoman Sabra Kauka will pack her tools and fly from Kaua'i to Maui. "As soon as I arrive, I will harvest lauhala leaves. My students will use the tools I bring to clean, soften, strip and weave these leaves into a lasting memory," she says. Kauka will gather lauhala at a site of historic discovery. The iwi, bones, of more than 2,000 Hawaiian kupuna, ancestors, were buried between A.D. 850 to the early 1800s on the bluff above Honokahua Bay. The resort was redesigned to preserve the site. Kauka believes that weaving lauhala from the site connects each student with the mana, the power of the place.

Meeting room presentations fill the day. Kumu Holt will share her thoughts on aloha in traditional and contemporary practice. Kumu Keli'i Tau'a will share the place names of Maui's chief Pi'ilani. In "Ho'okupu, makana or mahalo?" Lyons Kapi'ioho Naone will explain how and why Hawaiians say thank you in so many ways. Calvin Hoe and the students of O'ahu's Hakipu'u Learning Center Charter School delight audiences with performances of "Hula Ki'i," Hawaiian puppetry. The author of "The Heart of Being Hawaiian," Sally Jo Keala O Anuenue Bowman, will share her journey to find her cultural identity.

A most anticipated event, "Mothers Gift, Ka 'Olelo Makuahine," is the story, the history and the opportunity for hands-on learning the traditions of a Ni'ihau family as they share their leipupu, their shell lei artistry. The most rare of all Hawai'i's ocean wealth, the tiny Ni'ihau shell is often more valued than pearls. The workshop is an opportunity to make (for a small materials fee) a family heirloom, a pair of Ni'ihau shell earrings.

LUCKY WE LIVE HAWAI'I

New for 2009, Leihua Nae'ole will guide young artists visiting the Children's Learning Center, as they follow the "lucky we live (or visit) Hawai'i because" theme. A computer will be located in the arts area. All Celebration attendees will be encouraged to record their thoughts on how luck we are to enjoy Hawai'i. The children's art will be exhibited with a final goal of being combined with the computer comments and published as a "Lucky" book.

The sound of celebration could be the employee choral singing and hula in every courtyard or the ticketed Celebration Lu'au and Show featuring falsetto singing master Kamakakehau Fernandez and 2008 female vocalist of the year, Napua Greig and her award-winning Halau Hula Na Lei Kaumaka O Uka. For no cover charge except a hula, if you are invited, the Celebration After Hours in the Alaloa Lounge features the Hoku Award-winning Maunalua. From pre-dawn until nearly the next dawn, enjoying the Celebration of the Arts is, as Clifford Nae'ole says, "A gift you give yourself."