From early recorded memory, Hawaii has been a place of celebration. Changing seasons, rising stars, sailing, surfing and even Spam — all good reasons for a party. But one celebration, beyond all the others, is about us. Aloha Festivals is our time to celebrate Hawaii with ceremonies, street parties and parades, music, hula and food.
And everyone is invited.
In its 67th year, Aloha Festivals is here with a theme that honors Hawaiian ocean voyaging. "Moana Nui Akea — Celebrating Ocean Voyaging" will fill streets, malls, hotels and hearts from Thursday through Sept. 28. The honored guests will be the modern-day canoe builders, ocean voyagers and navigators who are continuing the great adventures of the waa kaulua, the double-hulled voyaging canoe, and the traditions of way-finding through non-instrument navigation that relies on the waves, sun and stars.
Honoring the 40th anniversary of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the grand marshals of the Sept. 28 Aloha Festivals Floral Parade are the first crew who sailed Hokule‘a from Hawaii to Tahiti in 1976. This time they will be sailing past their ocean of fans aboard the Hawaiian Airlines parade float.
Festivals co-chairwoman Helene "Sam" Shenkus recalls when the parade was featured on network television and Aloha Week pa‘u horseback units pranced through Madison Square Garden in New York. "Then and now the Aloha Festivals Royal Court presides over all, and the party only gets better," she said.
Her favorite part is walking along Kalakaua Avenue for the hoolaulea or the parade, looking at happy people. "I never see anyone unhappy; we are all just having fun, eating, listening to music, hanging out in our place: Waikiki."
Events are free. Sales of festival ribbons and wristbands ($7 each), T-shirts ($23) and event sponsorship raise funds. Ribbons are available at participating ABC Stores; wristbands and shirts, at official events and T&C Hawaii and Hawaiian Island Creation stores at Pearlridge Center.
To make the events happen, volunteers do all the work, including pulling overnight duty making dozens of horse lei or brandishing glue guns to stick hundreds of thousands of flower petals on the floats for the Aloha Festivals Parade.
Here’s a rundown of the events:
» 3 p.m. Thursday: The Aloha Festivals king, queen, prince and princess will be presented at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, with their royal adornments: helmet, cloak and feather lei. Selected from the community, these volunteers represent the alii for the entire year.
The Royal Court will be honored with traditional chants and hula kahiko (ancient-style hula) at 5 p.m. in the newly reopened Royal Hawaiian Center’s Royal Grove. This is the moment when the king raises his hand in the royal wave and says the line everyone wants to hear: "Let the party begin!"
» 9 a.m. to noon Saturday: Canoe builders and voyagers from the Friends of Hokule‘a & Hawaiiloa will be working on canoe restoration and ready to talk story in the lobby of the Outrigger Reef on the Beach. Free activities include artisans demonstrating how to make ti-leaf kaula binding cord, children’s storytelling, voyaging petroglyph image printing and the video documentary "Children of Long Canoes," by the late artist-historian Herb Kawainui Kane.
» 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday: Pearlridge Keiki Ho‘olaulea will offer continuous stage performances by keiki hula halau and musical groups, free activities, demonstrations and an appearance by the Aloha Festivals Royal Court.
» 7 p.m. Sept. 21: The 61st annual Aloha Festivals Waikiki Ho‘olaulea will fill Kalakaua Avenue between Lewers Street and Kapahulu Avenue with music, hula, lei stands, food booths and stages for island performers. For the 21-and-older crowd, the Royal Hawaiian Center Royal Grove Lawn will offer a beer and wine garden, with proceeds benefiting the festivals.
» 9 a.m. Sept. 28: The Aloha Festivals Floral Parade with pa‘u riding units, floats and marching bands will proceed down Kalakaua Avenue from Ala Moana Park to Kapiolani Park, where photo-taking of floats and parade entrants is encouraged.
Volunteers are crucial to the success of the parade. This year parade organizer Toni Lee got a call from the president of Farrington High School’s Pacific & Asian Affairs Council. She went to meet with the club and found 60-plus students ready and willing to volunteer. "I was stunned and immediately said yes! Then I asked them if they would like to march as the official banner carriers for each of the parade units," Lee said.
She said the students were willing to help in any way but seemed delighted they wouldn’t be sweeping the street. The parade rules have changed a bit, going back to the style of building floats on a flatbed truck. "I always say this, but really, this parade could be our best one ever," Lee said.
