Merrie Monarch Festival

March-April; week after Easter

The Merrie Monarch Festival is a week of festivities in Hilo honoring Hawaii's King David Kalakaua (1836-1891), who reigned from 1874 to 1891, and gave the United States exclusive rights to maintain a naval station at Pearl Harbor. The week's events, starting on Easter, close with the world's largest hula competition on the last three nights. The top hula schools ( hula halau ) compete in ancient and modern hula.

CONTACTS:
Big Island Visitors Bureau
250 Keawe St.
Hilo, HI 96720
808-961-5797; fax: 808-961-2126
www.merriemonarchlive.com

References in periodicals archive

Over the years, Kawananakoa has used her money to fund protesters fighting a giant telescope on a mountain some Native Hawaiians consider sacred" to challenge a contentious Honolulu rail project" and to support the Merrie Monarch Festival, a prestigious hula competition.

Hawaii's 'last princess' fights for control of her fortune

WANDER north to Hilo, the island's most populous town and the home of the Merrie Monarch Festival, which holds the world's top hula competition every April.

Island time: Hawaii is called the Big Island for a reason. It's 93 miles north to south, 76 miles east to west, more than 4,000 square miles all told, and, with continual volcanic activity, growing every year. When you visit, give yourself time; there's lots to explore

Aside from being the most prestigious ancient and modern hula competition, the Merrie Monarch festival also features hula demonstrations, exhibits, art fairs,musical entertainment, and the Miss Aloha Hula.

LuxuryBigIsland.com Welcomes Holiday Makers to Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo

Festival in northern Australia and the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo,

The Merrie Monarch Festival is an example of cultural-political

Performances of power: indigenous cultural festivals as globally engaged cultural strategy

An international level festival takes place every spring in Hilo on the island of Hawaii at The Merrie Monarch Festival. Now in its 43rd year, this celebration honors King David Kalakaua, whose love for that dance form stimulated its revival during his reign from 1874 to 1891.

The Hawaiian scene: grass skirts and dancing geckos

Then, in 1986, the jungle Gift Shop at the Hilo Airport touted "The World Famous Punalu'u Sweetbread" as the locally made product that participants in the Merrie Monarch Festival should tote home as souvenirs of the occasion.

A woman's work

Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, Hawaii, articulates the delicate

Introduction: indigenous politics--migration, citizenship, cyberspace

Merrie Monarch Festival. The Super Bowl of hula, with the same glamour and drama.

Art of the hula

The troupe has, in fact, been similarly greeted ever since its first appearance, in 1994, at the Merrie Monarch Festival, a three-day Varna-like competition held in the 7,000-seat Edith Kanaka'ole stadium in Hilo and televised throughout the state.

CARNEGIE HALL DOES THE HULA

A number of special events -- including the traditional hula performances at the Merrie Monarch Festival in March, the Big Island Wilderness Run in July, and the Hawaii County Fair in September -- also attract residents as well as visitors.

Say hello to Hilo

Merrie Monarch Festival. After January 2, reserve tickets ($8 to $20) for March 31-April 6 contest between Hawaii's best halau hula (schools).

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