April 8 - 14, 2012
The 2012 Merrie Monarch Hula Festival is an international Hula competition in Hilo, Hawaii. The festival starts with the Ho'olaule'a on Easter Sunday at the Civic Auditorium and ends with a parade through Hilo town and final evening competition on Saturday. Hula and Hawaiian events are held around Hilo town during the week of the festival to allow visitors and locals to experience the beauty of Hula dance and hear the wonderful Hawaiian melodies and chants. Below is a preliminary schedule for 2012 Merrie Monarch events.
MERRIE MONARCH FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Sunday April 8:
Ho'olaule'a ( Music Festival) at the Hilo Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. The music festival is a celebration of hula and Hawaaian chants performed by local Halaus and students. The event has food, drinks, snacks for sale as well as the first opportunity to buy official T-shirts and the program guide. Here are videos and photos of previous Ho'oaule'a events during Merrie Monarch week 2011 and 2010 and 2009 and 2008.
SCHEDULE:
9AM - Halau TBD
10AM - HalauTBD
11AM - Halau TBD
Noon- Halau TBD
1PM - Halau TBD
2PM- Halua TBD
3PM- Halua TBD
Monday April 9:
- Hula Free Demonstration: Halau TBD - Noon Hawaii Naniloa Volcanoes Resort
- Hula Free Demonstration: Halau TBD -1:00PM Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
- Native Hawaiian Art Exhibit: Noon to 8:00PM - Merrie Monarch Festival Office
Tuesday April 10:
- Merrie Monarch Festival Free Workshop: - 10:00-11:30AM 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
- Hula Free Demonstration: TBD - Noon Hawaii Naniloa Volcanoes Resort
- Hula Free Demonstration: Halau TBD - 1:00PM Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
- Merrie Monarch Festival Free Workshops: - 1:00-2:30PM 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
- Native Hawaiian Art Exhibit: Noon to 8:00PM - Merrie Monarch Festival Office
Wednesday April 11
- Hawaiian Invitational Arts & Crafts Fair: 8:30AM to 5:00PM - Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
- Merrie Monarch Festival Free Workshops: 10:00-11:30PM 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
- Hula Free Demonstration: Halau TBD - 11:00AM Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
- Hula Free Demonstration: Halau TBD - Noon Hawaii Naniloa Volcanoes Resort
- Hula Free Demonstration: TBD- 1:00PM Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
- Merrie Monarch Festival Free Workshops: - 1:00-2:30PM 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
- Native Hawaiian Art Exhibit: Noon to 8:00PM - Merrie Monarch Festival Office
- Ho'ike Night Free exhibition : Edith Kanaka'ole Multipurpose Stadium
This evening event is special gift to the residents of Hilo and visitors. It is performed in the same statium as the Merrie Monarch Hula competitions, with the same pagentry, and it is free. So those that are unable to get a ticket to the evening competitions can still get the thrilling experience by attending the Ho'ike. The only catch is that the popularity of the event and the open seating means you need to get in line very early to get a good seat. Our first year to the Ho'ike we got in line at 5PM and were very surprised to find that the line already extended from the Stadium all the way to the Civic Auditorium. We missed the entrance of the Royal Court and the Pule (since they close the gates during that time) and finally got a seat behind the stage which limited our view of the dances. The next year we got in line at 2:30PM with water, food, lawn chairs, crossword puzzles and an umbrella (because it was raining). Being in line for that long you become friends with the many visitors and locals with shared enthusiasm for the event and hula. Here are some pictures and movies from previous Ho'ike in 2009 and 2008 to get an idea of what the event is like.
SCHEDULE:
6:00PM - Entrance of Royal Court
6:15PM - National Anthem and Hawai'i Pono'i
6:25PM - Pule (prayer)
6:30PM - Halau TBD
7:30PM - TBD
8:00PM - TBD
8:45PM - TBD
(Get in line early - The best seats go quickly and and no one is allowed to enter during the royal court entrance or Pule from 6:00-6:30PM)
Thursday April 12
- Hawaiian Invitational Arts and Crafts Fair: 8:30AM to 5:00PM - Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
- Hula Free Demonstration: Halau TBD - 11:00AM Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
- Merrie Monarch Festival Free Workshops- 10:00-11:30AM 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
- Hula Free Demonstration: Halau TBD- Noon Naniloa Volcanoes Resort
- Hula Free Demonstration: Halau TBD - 1:00PM Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
- Merrie Monarch Festival Free Workshops - 1:00-2:30PM 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
- Miss Aloha Hula Competition: 6:00PM to midnight Edith Kanaka'ole Multipurpose Stadium and televised by KITV. Tickets needed.
Friday April 13
- Hawaiian Invitational Arts & Crafts Fair: 8:30AM to 5:00PM - Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
- Merrie Monarch Festival Free Workshops 10:00-11:30AM 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
- Hula Free Demonstration: TBD - 11:00AM Civic Auditorium
- Hula Free Demonstration : Halau TBD - Noon Naniloa Volcanoes Resort
- Hula Free Demonstration : Halau TBD - 1:00PM Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
- Merrie Monarch Festival Free Workshops - 1:00-2:30PM 'Imiloa Astronomy Center
- Group Hula Kahiko Competition : 6:00PM Edith Kanaka'ole Multipurpose Stadium and televised by KITV. Tickets needed.
Saturday April 14:
- Hawaiian Invitational Arts & Crafts Fair: 8:30AM to 5:00PM - Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
- Merrie Monarch Royal Parade : starting at 10:30AM in downtown Hilo
- Hula Free Demonstration : TBD - Noon Civic Auditorium
- Group Hula 'Auana Competition: 6:00PM Edith Kanaka'ole Multipurpose Stadium and televised on KITV. Tickets needed.
BUYING TICKETS
As the date for Merrie Monarch 2012 approaches, information about buying tickets will appear on the official Merrie Monarch site here. Until then, here are some of the requirements for buying tickets:
- Each person can buy only two tickets and each ticket allows the holder to attend up to three nights of competition.
- Ticket requests must be mailed and only letters postmarked December 26, 2011 and later will be accepted. Requests postmarked prior to December 26, 2011 will NOT be accepted, and will be returned to the sender.
- Ticket prices vary depending on the seating section and the number of days attending the competition.
- Requests must include: 1) a ticket request form; 2) payment in the form of a cashier’s check or money order, in U.S. dollars; and 3) a self-addressed stamped envelope.
HAWAIIAN WORDS FOR HULA SURVIVAL
If you are new to Hula, you need some Hawaiian language to help understand and appreciate hula and the cultural aspects of the dance. Here is a list of words used commonly during the Merrie Monarch festival.
Aloha - is used to say hello and goodbye and desribes a kind of love or respect for something or someone. It is sometimes used in the negative: "He has no aloha!"
'Auana - Modern Hawaiian style
Halau - With regard to hula, this means a Hula group or school usually under the direction of Kumu. It means long house for canoes as well.
Haole - used to refer to white people
Hapa - means half and is used to describe people's race (Hapa Hawaiian), food, music or anything else that is influenced by ethnicity
Hapa Haole Songs - Hawaiian songs in English
Ho'i - Exit which is often accompanied by song or chant
Ho'opa'a - Chanters
Heiau - Hawaiian platform Temple. Heiau can be visited in National and State parks around Hawaii island
Hula Kahiko - Hula composed prior to 1893 and does not include modern musical instruments. Types of Hula Kahiko include ‘āla’apapa, ha’a, ‘olapa, and others. Hula is performed with chants accompanied by sticks and gourd drums and performed in malo, or loincloth, and pā’ū, or wrapped skirt, and clothing made of grass and flowers.
Hula 'Auana - Modern style Hula accompanied with songs in Hawaiian and modern musical instruments and performed in colorful dresses (mumus) and patterened shirts
Huli - The movement of turning - in a canoe it means to flip over.
Ipuheke - Gourd instrument without a top used as a drum during Kahiko Hula
Kahiko - Ancient Hawaiian style
Ka'i - Entrance which is often accompanied by song or chant
Kane - Man and Men
Keiki - Child or Children
Kumu - Teacher that has mastery of Hula or some Hawaiian art form
Kupea - Anklets worn by male dancers
Kupuna - Elderly person or people
Mele - Hawaiian song and poetic language
Merrie Monarch - The Merrie Monarch refers to King David Kalākaua who reigned over the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1874 until his death in 1891. He was a patron of the arts and is given credit for revitalizing Hula in Hawaii.
'Olapa - Dancers
Oli - Chant
Pau - Finished, no more: "Food all Pau"
Pahu - Drum
Pule - Prayer given in Hawaiian at the begining of most events
'Uli'uli - Gourd instrument filled with seeds and topped with colorful flowers used by dancers in hula
Wahine - Woman and Women
MERRIE MONARCH WEB LINKS:
Copyright 2011 |