KAPALUA, Maui — The power of the voice — and the words that it speaks and chants and sings — is the theme of the 16th annual Celebration of the Arts at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, The Maui News reported.

This acclaimed gathering of Native Hawaiian artists, cultural practitioners, teachers and other Maui artists leading hands-on workshops began before daybreak Friday morning and continues today. A holiday brunch will be held Sunday.

With this year's focus on using words carefully, "this is when we look for the typos," said cultural specialist Clifford Nae'ole, chairman of the event. Nae'ole is credited with instilling the strong, authentic Hawaiian cultural emphasis of the event.

It includes panel discussions, film screenings and a play in addition to the art projects going on at tables filling corridors and reception areas at the luxurious Kapalua resort. Most events, other than the Celebration luau tonight and the Ritz-Carlton Easter Brunch on Sunday, are free and welcoming to the public.

Celebration of the Arts explores "the depth and breadth of Hawaiian culture," said Kumu hula Hokulani Holt, an organizer of the event along with Nae'ole and Kumu hula Charles Ka'upu.

"It's not afraid to ask the hard questions," she said of the celebration, which brings realities of Hawaiian culture and the tourism industry together for discussion.

She described it as "free talking, back and forth."

Panel discussion topics today include "Journalism ... responsibilities & consequences" at 10:30 a.m. and "Can Hawaiians Survive by Blood Alone?" at 3:30 p.m.

But the sound of music and the sight of young hula dancers also fill the lobby and outdoor performances spaces at the resort, now in the final stages of a $160 million renovation. Along with numerous hula performances by Maui halau, other presentations focus on a variety of musical topics, from a workshop on the Hawaiian nose flute, to a demonstration of traditional drum making to a film about the ukulele-making Kamaka family. Vocal music is the topic of a falsetto workshop led by Maui Grammy winner Richard Ho'opi'i and a presentation of whale songs.

The celebration began Friday morning on D.T. Fleming beach where Nae'ole, Holt and Ka'upu led almost 100 participants in "Hiuwai and E Ala E," a cleansing immersion in the ocean followed by a chant to prompt the sunrise.

The celebration, which has always taken place on Easter weekend, "is a time of renewal and rebirth," said Ka'upu, who stressed the spiritual aspect of the event — and the commonality of spiritual beliefs among different cultures. The same deity is called by many different names, he said in an awa ceremony for celebration presenters. He delivered a similar message to Ritz-Carlton guests filling the lobby for the opening protocol.

Observers watched in rapt attention as participants in traditional Hawaiian attire chanted outside the entrance of the lobby before being welcomed in by Ka'upu and the resort's new general manager, Thomas Donovan.

In the colorful ritual that turned the lobby into a living tableau of Hawaiian culture, the organizers presented lei awards named for Auntie Lydia Namahana Maioho to John Kaha'i Topolinski and Florinda Koanui for their work perpetrating hula and the Hawaiian spirit in general.

Event chairman Nae'ole emphasized the weekend's theme. Noting the willingness to tackle topical and sometimes controversial themes, he emphasized that its goal was not confrontation, but communication and cooperation.

With his customary humor, he said, "this is the time when the hotel bends like bamboo, the one time when there are more coolers than baggage checking in."

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