Hula fans on both sides of the Pacific Ocean eagerly look forward every year to the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, a week of cultural festivities, hula demonstrations and intense competition that typically begins immediately after Easter. In less than a month, they’ll have to submit ticket requests and cross their fingers they make the cut.
The 24 hālau (hula troupes) from Hawai‘i and occasionally the West Coast invited to participate begin preparing a year before. Hearing the dancers’ ti leaf skirts rustle as the take to the stage, inhaling the fragrance of their leis as they sway, feeling the rumbling of their steps on the wooden floor, and seeing their intricately dyed kapa (bark cloth) or beautifully tailored modern costumes in motion is truly an unforgettable experience, whether you’re watching women soloists vie to be named Miss Aloha Hula or groups of men or women performing kahiko (ancient) or ‘auana (modern) hula.
But there’s another competition that precedes it: getting tickets to the three nights of judged performances in Edith Kanaka’ole Tennis Stadium, which in 2025 will take place April 24-26. Ticket requests must be snail-mailed with a postmark of Dec. 1 or later, and include a cashier’s check or money order (prices vary by the number of nights and seating area) and self-addressed stamped envelope (remember those?) As soon as all the seats have been allotted, usually before the end of the month, disappointed people start receiving the bad news via mail, along with their uncashed checks.
Fortunately, those three nights of the 62nd annual Merrie Monarch Festival will be televised and streamed online, and many sites in and around Hilo feature arts and craft fairs with free performances of hula and Hawaiian music, no tickets required. And Hawaii’s Big Island also hosts more hula festivals and competitions throughout the year that are worth putting on your itinerary, without having to worry about tickets in advance.
On Nov. 16, OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa in Keauhou will host the 17th annual E Mau Ana Ka Hula Festival, featuring kumu hula and their dancers from Japan and Europe as well as Hawaii in a free showcase of traditional hula. The all-day, family-friendly event, organized by kumu hula Keala Ching of the Nā Wai Iwi Ola (“The Ancient Waters of Life”) hālau in Kailua-Kona, also includes a marketplace of local arts, crafts and food vendors.
Ching also presents OUTRIGGER Kona’s monthly Nā Ali‘i Series, a free evening of live music, storytelling and hula honoring a member of Hawaiian royalty on the resort’s Ka‘ukulaelae Bayview Lawn. Bring a beach chair or mat to enjoy the performances, held the last Tuesday of each month from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The remaining dates this year will honor the Merrie Monarch himself, King David Kalākaua, on Oct. 29 and Nov. 26, and his wife, Queen Kapi‘olani, on Dec. 31.
King Kalākaua, who reigned from 1874 until his death in San Francisco in 1891, is revered for restoring public performances of hula — previously banned by missionaries — in Hawai‘i. He called hula “the language of the heart, and therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people.”
All ages can speak this language of the heart, too. In September, OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa in Keauhou hosted the 38th annual Hawai‘i Kupuna Hula Festival — the first presentation of the senior men and women’s hula festival since the pandemic—in its spacious Kaleiopapa Convention Center. Some 275 dancers and a dozen hālau (hula troupes) came from around Hawai‘i Island, Moloka‘i and Washington to participate in the two-day event, which included solo and group competitions as well as exhibition performances, accompanied by some of Hawaii’s top musicians.
“So many of these kupuna have been instrumental in preserving and teaching these significant cultural traditions to younger generations,” Mayor Mitch Roth said at the event. “Their dedication to perpetuating hula and Hawaiian values ensures that our rich heritage continues to thrive, not just for today, but for future generations as well. It is a privilege to honor them and celebrate the wisdom and aloha they share with our community.” To find out the date of next year’s Hawai‘i Kupuna Hula Festival, contact the Elderly Activities Division of Hawai‘i County’s Parks and Recreation Department.
Hula dancers young and old take the stage in the annual birthday celebration for Kauikeaouli, an ali‘i born at Keauhou Bay who ruled as King Kamehameha III from 1825 to 1854. Kamehameha Schools organizes the March event, which includes cultural and educational talks and was also held this year at OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa.
And if there’s no hula festival going on while you’re on the island? Nearly every Friday night, Keauhou Shopping Center presents free Hawaiian music and hula from a variety of halau in its courtyard from 6 to 7 p.m.
