Romance, the second time around, is a tad easier.

So says Matt Catingub, principal musical force and a founder of the second annual Hawaii Romance Festival, launching this evening at 'Iolani Palace with a preview of what's in store through May 11 at various venues.

"It's easier in the sense that we have one under our belt," said Catingub, maestro of the 40-piece Matt Catingub Orchestra of Hawaii, which will accompany headliners in events at the Waikiki Shell, Blaisdell Arena, Hawai'i Theatre and The Royal Hawaiian hotel. "For the first one last year, we had about six months to plan; for this year's, we had a whole year. So we've been able to fine-tune."

As pops conductor with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra (his full-time job), Catingub has worked with a lot of pop, soul and jazz musicians and singers over the past decade. Branching out in an effort to expand concert audiences and build a franchise event, he founded the orchestra that bears his name and created the Romance Festival, celebrating the many aspects of love.

"Hawai'i is the most romantic place, isn't it?" he said.

This year's festival includes top-notch pop performers such as Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight, and cult favorites like Aaron Neville.

From the Broadway stage, Brian Stokes Mitchell returns; from TV and the pop charts, Kimberley Locke makes her debut; and from the light-rock genre, Boz Scaggs makes his first-ever performance backed by a large orchestra.

Island-raised Philippines crooner Martin Nievera adds international flavor; and Sergio Mendes provides Latin and bossa nova vibes.

Local faves abound, too, including Jimmy Borges, Robert Cazimero, Hapa, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom and Jake Shimabukuro.

"We're trying different things," Catingub said. "Eventually, we'd like to embrace all of the arts in our festival."

This year, the festival includes a screening of the classic romantic film, "Gone With the Wind."

There's an opportunity to renew marriage vows.

And during "Dancing With the Stars — Hawaiian Style," folks can foxtrot or tango with a celebrity and help raise money for the arts.

"Who knows? We might even have cuisine and cooking in the future," Catingub said.

The festival already has recorded and released two CDs of music and has completed two television specials linked to the romance theme.

There's talk, too, of DVD projects — fans want to see what they hear, after all — but the cost for now is prohibitive, with the multitude of performers and the large orchestra.

Catingub's major task for the festival is to create more than 60 arrangements for the guest artists.

"That's a lot for one time," he said of the workload. "At the same time, it falls in the line of what we offer: There is nobody else doing what we do, and that is, provide a 40-piece symphony-style orchestra backing up every artist."

"Boz Scaggs never performed with a symphony," Catingub said. "And Aaron Neville, the same thing. They both end up with orchestral arrangements that they now can take across the country; and every time they use them, the Matt Catingub Orchestra of Hawai'i's name will be there. So this trumpets what we're doing."

Partnering with Allen Sviridoff, a founding force and Grammy Award-winning producer, Catingub hopes the festival will evolve and find its place on the world map, like the Montreaux Jazz Festival (in Switzerland) and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

"We're looking forward to building on last year's success to create an annual tradition," Sviridoff said.

WHERE IS THE LOVE?

The complete Hawaii Romance Festival schedule: