Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 37, Number 11, 1 November 2020 — Virtual 43rd Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival Premieres November 5 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Virtual 43rd Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival Premieres November 5

By Pauline Worsham Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF) presents the premiere of the virtual 43rd Annual Prince Lot Hula Festival on Thursday, November 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. on KHON2. The two-hour program will be livestreamed on www.khon2.com and on * KHON's YouTube ehannel. It will be rebroadcast on Saturday, November i 7, from 7 to 9 p.m. on KHON, and on I Sunday, November 8, from 8 to 10 p.m. ■ on sister station KHII. Presenting Sponsor | is Hawai'i Tourism Authority. Instead of a live in-person event, this year's festival was filmed at historic Queen Emma Summer Palaee and features 1 1 hālau in an inspiring program of hula with special messages of aloha from eaeh kumu. Founded in 1978, the festival honors Prince Lot Kapuāiwa, who helped revive hula in Moanalua and reigned as Kamehameha V from 1863 to 1872.

"While we cannot safely gather together in person during the pandemic, we wanted to bring our program of aloha through hula to the families and kūpuna here in Hawai'i and beyond our shores so they ean watch it in the security of their homes," said Alika Jamile, executive director and president of MGF. The program will showcase a mixture of both kahiko and 'auana with hālau performing at various locations on the grounds of the Summer Palaee. David Kalama (Kalama Productions) a veteran producer and senior media producer of the Merrie Monarch Festival for 27 years, is producing the show. A highlight will be a special performanee by MGF's Malia Kau Award recipient Kumu Hula Leimomi Ho and Keali'ika'apunihonua Ke'ena A'o Hula. The virtual festival will launeh on MGF's Facebook site on Monday, November 16, and on their YouTube ehannel with additional vignettes on Tuesday, December 1 .

"The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is honored to be a sponsor of this groundbreaking program. Despite these difficult times, Moanalua Gardens Foundation has found a way to safely celebrate our culture in this uplifting program of hula with aloha," said Dr. Sylvia Hussey, OHA CEO. "We are deeply grateful to our loyal sponsors who are helping to make this broadcast possible," Jamile added. Other sponsors include the National Endowment for the Arts, the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Nakila & Marti Steele Family Fund of the Hawai'i Community Foundation, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, The Dolores Furtado Martin Foundation, Kamehameha Schools, The Queen's Health Systems, PA'I Foundation and Matson Navigation. MGF continues to fundraise to pay for the production. To kōkua go to: www.moanaluagardensfoundation.org/ donate and make a donation or become a member. ■