News
Register now for our Mālama Kamananui Environmental Education Program – April 3 through May 8
2020 Prince Lot Hula Festival – Televised Broadcast
COMING IN THE FALL!
A VIRTUAL PRINCE LOT HULA FESTIVAL
I Ulu Nō Ka Lālā I Ke Kumu, Youth blossoms from a strong foundation, the 43rd Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, will feature a televised broadcast this Fall!
We were hoping we could celebrate with you in person on July 18 and 19 but COVID-19 restrictions will not allow us to gather this year. Instead of a live festival, Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF) will present an exciting broadcast this Fall of celebrated hālau hula filmed for television and live streamed globally. A new YouTube channel will show the program on demand with footage of additional highlights.
We’ll be sharing more news on facebook and on www.moanaluagardensfoundation.org soon.
Mahalo for your understanding!
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FESTIVAL BY MAKING A DONATION NOW!
Mahalo
2019 – Prince Lot Hula Festival Announcement
Moanalua Gardens Foundation Announces Theme for
42nd Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace
I Mua E Nā Pōki’i, Move Forward, O Youth, is the theme of the 42nd Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, which will take place at historic Iolani Palace in 2019 on Saturday, July 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, July 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., announced Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF), the festival’s presenter. The largest non-competitive hula celebration in Hawai‘i, the festival honors Prince Lot Kapuāiwa, who helped reprise hula and reigned as Kamehameha V from 1863 to 1872.
“I Mua E Nā Pōki’i, Move Forward, O Youth represents the passing of our hula traditions to the next generation of keepers of our culture,” said Alika Jamile, MGF Executive Director and President. “They are our bridge from the past to the future.”
The festival returns for the third year to Iolani Palace to celebrate two days of hula where Hawaii’s ali’i, including Prince Lot, lived and ruled.
Founded in 1978 by MGF as a gift to the community, the festival now attracts thousands of residents and visitors each year. Opening ceremonies on Saturday will include the Royal Order of Kamehameha, presentation of MGF’s Malia Kau Award to renown Kumu Hula Iris Naleialoha Napaepae-Kunewa of Hawai’i Island, followed by an impressive line-up of premier hālau hula (hula groups) who will perform both kāhiko (ancient) and ‘auana (contemporary) hula.
On Sunday, MGF will honor respected chanter Kamuela Chun from Hilo with its Namakahelu Oli Award as part of the opening program. The event will also feature a Hawaiian-themed craft fair, cultural demonstrations, and more.
Local food and refreshments will be available for purchase throughout the day. Limited edition tee shirts and souvenir kōkua buttons will be on sale. Proceeds from these merchandise sales will help cover the costs of the festival.
The public, and visitors, are welcome and encouraged to bring their beach chairs and mats and enjoy the fun, food and festivities in the magnificent setting of Iolani Palace. No commercial photography is allowed.
Participating hālau and a festival performance schedule will be announced at a later date. For more information, please call 808.839.5334.
Donate by Shopping
Shop this Holiday Season at smile.amazon.com/ch/99-0143900 and AmazonSmile donates to Moanolua Gardens Foundation Inc.
Mahalo to our Sponsors
~ Mahalo a nui loa to all of our major sponsors who helped make this year’s 41st Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace a great success! New sponsors: Douglas Emmett Management Hawaii, LLC and IATSE, Local 665, International Alliance of Theatrical & Stage Employees & Machine Operators.
Also, a big mahalo to our other sponsors whose support, both financial and in-kind, we deeply appreciate.
Friends of Iolani Palace, Pasha Hawai’i Transport Lines, Cadinha and Company, Ironworkers Union, Local 625 and Ironworkers Union, Local 625 Stabilization Fund, Laborer’s International Union of North America, Local 368, KINE Radio/Summit Media Corporation and Urgent Care Hawaii.
Comments from the Prince Lot Hula Festival
Read what our kumu and guests are saying about this year’s Prince Lot Hula Festival
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2018 Hula Festival Photo Gallery
Bus Transportation | Parking | Drop-Off area
41st Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace Will Feature Twenty Hālau Hula and Awards to Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele, Nalani Kanaka‘ole and Kalena Silva. Free Palace Admission on Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22
Ka Hanohano O Kamehameha…The Glory of Kamehameha, the 41st Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival taking place at Iolani Palace on Saturday, July 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, July 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. will showcase twenty of Hawai`i’s finest hālau hula (hula groups) over the festival weekend. A performance line-up is attached.
The largest non-competitive hula exhibition in Hawai‘i, the festival will return to Iolani Palace where Prince Lot Kapuāiwa maintained his official residence. Presented by Moanalua Gardens foundation (MGF), a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and perpetuating Hawaii`s native culture and natural resources, the festival recently won the 2018 Best Tourism Award for Heritage and Culture from aio Media and Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association. The Hawaii Tourism Authority is the Presenting Sponsor.
Festival highlights include an impressive Opening Ceremony led by the Royal Order of Kamehameha, Chapters 1, 6 and 8, on Saturday at 9 am followed by the presentation of MGF’s prestigious Malia Kau Award to sisters and Nā Kumu Hula Pualani Kanaka’ole Kanahele and Nalanai Kanaka’ole of the renowned Hālau o Kekuhi from Hawai`i Island. This award is given solely to kumu hula who have, over their lifetime, made significant contributions to perpetuating Hawaii’s hula traditions and culture.
“Moanalua Gardens Foundation is proud to recognize Pua and Nalani for their leadership in advancing the art of hula worldwide and achieving in their own hālau a level of excellence that inspires all hula practitioners,” said Alika Jamile, Executive Director.
Twelve hālau hula will be showcased on Saturday beginning at 9:30 am with Hālau o Kekuhi and including, Coline Aiu’s Hālau Hula O Maiki, Niuli`i Heine’s Nā Pualei o Likolehua, and Maui’s Kamaka Kukona’s award-winning Hālau o Ka Hanu Lehua, and more. Puna Kalama Dawson’s Ka Ipu Ha`a o’ Kekauilani, Na Pua Hala o’ Kau`ai, Japana, Europa a me Canada will represent the island of Kau`ai.
On Sunday at 10 am master chanter Kalena Silva will receive MGF’s second annual Namakahelu Oli Award for his contributions to the preservation of this ancient art form and for his extensive knowledge of oli and skill in chanting.
“As with our Malia Kau Award, Moanalua Gardens Foundation chose to select a foremost practitioner from Hawai’i Island for its Namakahelu Oli Award and Kalena is an outstanding choice,” said Jamile.
“Over a 30-year career, he has gained an excellent reputation for his study of and originality in chanting and has performed, taught, and lectured on Hawaiian music, dance, and language in Hawaiʻi and abroad,” Jamile continued.
Sunday’s featured hālau include Leimomi I Maldonado’s Ka Hale I o Kahala Hālau Hula, Vicky Holt Takamine’s Pua Ali’i ‘Ilima, Hālau Hula ‘O Hokulani led by the late Hokulani De Rego’s three daughters, Leinani Lauaki, Kehaulani Kawai and Leonani Naho`oikaika, and more. Hawai’i Island will again be represented by Lelehua Bray’s Hālau Hula Maunalei from Holualoa.
Making their debut at the festival will be Hālau o Ka Hanu Lehua and Kumu Hula Kamaka Kukona from Maui. The hālau placed fourth in this year’s Merrie Monarch Festival for the mele Pōlehoonālani written by Kuana Torres Kahele and Kukona won the 2018 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Male Vocalist of the Year Award. Also, Hui Ho’oulu Aloha and Kumu Hula Pomaikai’i Kreuger will be performing for the first time. One of the hālau founders, Cy Bridges, received the inaugural Namakahelu Oli Award last year.
Other highlights include a pre-festival concert by the Kamehameha Alumni Glee Club on Saturday at 8:30 am, a Hawaiian-themed craft fair featuring local crafters, demonstrations of traditional Hawaiian arts by noted cultural practitioners, including poi pounding, lauhala weaving, kapa making, ipu heke making, feather lei making, ukulele making and more.
Food vendors will offer a variety of mouth-watering local specialties featuring Hawaiian plates, shave ice, and other island favorites.
On Saturday and Sunday, entrance to the first floor of Iolani Palace will be free.
“We welcome both kama`āina and malihini,” to our second Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace and invite the entire community and visitors to join us for this special tribute to Hawaii’s ali’i who lived and ruled on the sacred grounds of the Palace,” said Jamile.
There is no charge to attend the festival, however, a button donation to MGF is requested to raise funds to support the event. Limited edition tee shirts and a souvenir poster will be on sale. Proceeds from these merchandise sales will help cover the costs of the festival.
The public, and visitors, are welcome to bring their low beach chairs and mats and enjoy the fun, food and festivities at historic Iolani Palace. No commercial photography is allowed.
Festival sponsors and supporters include, National Endowment for the Arts, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Douglas Emmett, Kamehameha Publishing, Hawaiian Airlines, The Queen’s Medical Center, Matson Navigation, Royal Hawaiian Center, IATSE Local 665, Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau, O‘ahu Visitors Bureau, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, MidWeek, ‘Ōlelo Community Media, Pasha Hawaii, Iolani Palace, Urgent Care Hawaii and others.
Named in memory of Prince Lot, who later reigned as King Kamehameha V, the festival was founded in 1978 by MGF and now attract thousands of residents and visitors each year.
Click to view participating hālau and a festival performance schedule. For more information about about the festival and MGF, please call 808.839.5334.
A non-profit organization founded in 1970, Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF) is committed to preserving and perpetuating the native culture and environment of Hawai’i through education and stewardship of Kamananui
(Moanalua) Valley and celebration of the Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace. MGF depends upon grants and donations to cover festival costs. To make a donation or become a member please visit Donations
Like us on Facebook
The Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival Wins aio Media Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Top Award
The Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival took the top award for Best Tourism Events – Heritage and Cultural Event at the inaugural aio Media Hawai’i Lodging & Tourism Awards held recently at the Hawai’i Convention Center.
Created to recognize leadership and excellence in the tourism industry, the awards honored organizations and individuals in 14 separate categories for their contributions to Hawai’i’s largest industry, tourism.
The 2018 festival, Ka Hanohano O Kamehameha…The Glory of Kamehameha, the 41st Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, will return to Iolani Palace on Saturday, July 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, July 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival honors Prince Lot Kapuāiwa, who helped reprise hula and reigned as Kamehameha V from 1863 to 1872 at his official residence on the palace grounds.
Admission to the Palace during the festival will be free.
Presented by Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF), the festival is the largest non-competitive hula celebration in the islands. “We are deeply grateful to aio Media and the Hawai’i Lodging and Tourism Association for this award. This recognition would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of our Festival Committee, staff, volunteers, sponsors and donors, and our Board of Directors, who work tirelessly to make the festival the success that it is,” said Alika Jamile, Executive Director and President.
“We also wish to acknowledge the many kumu hula and their hālau who showcase the best of our hula traditions each year. They are the heartbeat of the festival”, Jamile said. “We encourage the entire community to join us for two days of great hula, food and cultural activities at the palace.”
Founded in 1978 by MGF as a gift to the community, the festival now attracts thousands of residents and visitors each year. Opening ceremonies on Saturday will include the Royal Order of Kamehameha, presentation of MGF’s Malia Kau Award to renown Nā Kumu Hula Nalani and Pua Kanaka’ole, followed by an impressive line-up of premier hālau hula (hula groups) who will perform both kāhiko (ancient) and ‘auana (contemporary) hula.
Hālau from every major island will be participating and their kumu have been encouraged to include dancers from their out-of-state branches.
On Sunday, MGF will honor respected chanter Kalena Silva with its Namakahelu Oli Award as part of the opening program. The event will also feature a Hawaiian-themed craft fair, cultural demonstrations, and more.
Local food and refreshments will be available for purchase throughout the day.
Limited edition tee shirts and souvenir kōkua buttons will be on sale. Proceeds from these merchandise sales will help cover the costs of the festival.
The public, and visitors, are welcome and encouraged to bring their beach chairs and mats and enjoy the fun, food and festivities in the magnificent setting of Iolani Palace. No commercial photography is allowed.
Festival sponsors and supporters include the Hawaii Tourism Authority, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Iolani Palace, Hawaiian Airlines, Matson Navigation, Pasha Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau, O‘ahu Visitors Bureau, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, MidWeek, ‘Ōlelo Community Media, and Urgent Care Hawaii.
For more information, please call 808.839.5334 or contact us via email: info@moanaluagardensfoundation.org
A non-profit organization founded in 1970, Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF) is committed to preserving and perpetuating the native culture and environment of Hawai’i through education and stewardship of Kamananui
(Moanalua) Valley and celebration of the Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace. MGF depends upon grants and donations to cover festival costs. To make a donation or become a member please visit Donations
Like us on Facebook
2018 – Prince Lot Hula Festival
Moanalua Gardens Foundation Continues New Tradition of Hula With Celebration of the 41st Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace Honolulu, Hawai‘i 
Ka Hanohano O Kamehameha…The Glory of Kamehameha, the 41st Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival, will be returning to Iolani Palace on Saturday, July 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, July 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., announced Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF), the festival’s presenter. The largest noncompetitive hula event in Hawai‘i, the festival honors Prince Lot Kapuāiwa, who helped reprise hula and reigned as Kamehameha V from 1863 to 1872. Admission to the Palace during the festival will be free. “We are honored to be invited back to Iolani Palace to celebrate two days of hula on these sacred grounds, where our ali`i, including Prince Lot, maintained their official residences,” said Alika Jamile, MGF Executive Director and President. “We can’t think of a better place than Iolani Palace to showcase two days of great hula performed by some of Hawaii’s premier hālau hula,” Jamile continued. “We encourage the entire community to join us for 41st Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace.”
“We are very pleased to continue our partnership with the Moanalua Gardens Foundation to once again host the Prince Lot Hula Festival on the grounds of Iolani Palace,” said Kippen de Alba Chu, Executive Director of Museum Operations for Iolani Palace. “Hula has always been an integral part of many Palace celebrations and the festival will carry on this time-honored legacy.”
Founded in 1978 by MGF as a gift to the community, the festival now attracts thousands of residents and visitors each year. Opening ceremonies on Saturday will include the Royal Order of Kamehameha, presentation of MGF’s Malia Kau Award to renown Nā Kumu Hula Nalani and Pua Kanaka’ole, followed by an impressive line-up of premier hālau hula (hula groups) who will perform both kāhiko (ancient) and ‘auana (contemporary) hula. Hālau from every major island will be participating and their kumu have been encouraged to include dancers from their out-of-state branches.
On Sunday, MGF will honor respected chanter Kalena Silva with its Namakahelu Oli Award as part of the opening program. The event will also feature a Hawaiian-themed craft fair, cultural demonstrations, and more. Local food and refreshments will be available for purchase throughout the day. Limited edition tee shirts and souvenir kōkua buttons will be on sale. Proceeds from these merchandise sales will help cover the costs of the festival.
The public, and visitors, are welcome and encouraged to bring their beach chairs and mats and enjoy the fun, food and festivities in the magnificent setting of Iolani Palace. Commercial photography is not allowed.
Festival sponsors and supporters include the Hawaii Tourism Authority, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the City and County of Honolulu, Iolani Palace, Hawaiian Airlines, Matson Navigation, Pasha Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau, O‘ahu Visitors Bureau, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, MidWeek, ‘Ōlelo Community Media, Urgent Care Hawaii and others. Participating hālau and a festival performance schedule will be announced at a later date. For more information, please email info@moanaluagardensfoundation.org or call 808.839.5334.
A non-profit organization founded in 1970, Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF) is committed to preserving and perpetuating the native culture and environment of Hawai’i through education and stewardship of Kamananui
(Moanalua) Valley and celebration of the Prince Lot Hula Festival at Iolani Palace. MGF depends upon grants and donations to cover festival costs. To make a donation or become a member please visit Donations
Like us on Facebook