Surprise Hawaiian music and hula performances sprung up around Japan last week, when 200 musicians, hula dancers and kumu from Hawaii were stranded at train stations en route to a concert as part of the Hoike Lanakila tour in Tokyo. The delay was due to bad weather, which halted their travels for three hours at […]
It was a historic moment Saturday, June 17, 2017 as the Hokulea, a double-hulled Polynesian voyaging canoe, and her sister vessel, Hikianalia, returned home to dock in Hawaii after being away for three years on the Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage. Her journey took her around the world, roughly 40,300 nautical miles, and to more than 150 ports in
Each year on Memorial Day, an estimated 45,000 to 50,000 people from all over the globe gather on the shores of Honolulu’s Ala Moana Beach Park and Magic Island to take part in a breathtakingly beautiful memorial ceremony hosted by Shinnyo-en, an international Buddhist community. This year, over 7,000 lanterns, inscribed with notes to lost family and
It’s a typical bucolic Saturday afternoon at Kualoa Beach Park fronting Kaneohe Bay during the annual Kualoa Canoe Festival. Polynesian Voyaging Society lead navigator Kaiulani Murphy, a woman in peak physical shape, watches the Keaulana O Kalihi, a gorgeous, blonde nearshore sailing canoe a hundred meters from shore through a break in the ironwood trees.
Lauhala weaving is an esteemed tradition in the Hawaiian Islands that dates back long before contact. In Hawaiian, lau means “leaf” and hala refers to the “pandanus” tree. The weaving of the tree’s leaves produces beautiful works of art—mats, baskets, clothing, accessories and bed coverings. To weave lauhala, an artisan needs deft fingers, a creative mind and a great deal
Few sounds bring back memories of the Islands like the mellow strings of the ukulele. Hawaii’s most celebrated instrument is the star of the 47th Annual Ukulele Festival on Sunday, July 16, 2017 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Kapiolani Park. We’re awarding a lucky winner a complete prize package (see below) to hop
Drive some of Hawaii’s main thoroughfares and you might notice a curious thing: The presence of restaurants declaring themselves “drive-ins,” although that is clearly not the case. An idea popularized in the 1950s across America and recreated in the Islands with local-style plate lunches, loco moco and saimin, Hawaii drive-in restaurants now operate as traditional
It’s been called the “Hawaiian Grammys”—in fact, many Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning musicians have even gone on to win Grammys. That said, it’s definitely Hawaii’s biggest night in music and you won’t want to miss it. Presented by the Hawaiian Academy of Recording Arts, this year’s star-studded awards ceremony features 17 genre categories, spanning everything
Hale Motuapuaka is an overachiever. Not only does the teenager, of Tongan descent (with Samoan ties, he says), play football for Punahou High School as a defensive tackle, he also plays the drums, ukulele, guitar and bass. But his primary passion—something he’s been doing since he was just 3 years old—is fireknife dancing. A six-time World
The light from the low-hanging full moon can’t penetrate the dark depths of the ocean, instead leaving a shimmery glow on what looks to be an endless abyss. In the predawn hours, the 23-foot fishing boat I’m sitting aboard is being launched down a ramp and into the waters off Pohoiki on the Big Island
The sun is falling quickly in the sky, surrounded by a hazy, brilliant vog-induced glow, and the red dirt at my feet is turning the rich, red-orange color of fire. An elevation of around 1,600 feet may not sound remarkable, but standing at the edge of Lanai’s western uplands of Keahiakawelo, it feels as though
For centuries, people in search of healing have journeyed to a humble hillside by a stream in Lawai. Originally the site of an ancient heiau, or Hawaiian temple, the 32-acre valley on Kauai’s southern shore later became host to iconography of another religion: 88 Buddhist shrines. Measuring no larger than a dollhouse, the series of
