Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 5, 1 May 2023 — Brown Wins Miss Aloha Hula 2023 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Brown Wins Miss Aloha Hula 2023

E ho'omaika'i to Agnes Renee Leihiwahiwaikapolionāmakua Thronas Brown of Kāne'ohe, O'ahu, who was named Miss Aloha Hula 2023 at the Merrie Monarch Festival on April 13. Brown represented Ka Lā 'Onohi Mai 0 Ha'eha'e, under the direction of nā Kumu Hula Tracie and Keawe Lopes. Brown's hula kahiko presentation was "Poli Laua'e Makana" an oli honoring King Kaumuali'i of Kaua'i written by the late Kumu Hula Henry Mo'ikehaokahiki Pā. Her 'auana presentation, "Ku'u Home a i Kāne'ohe" composed by Louise Hart Hopkins, was especially meaningful to the 21 -year-old Brown whose 'ohana has resided in Kāne'ohe for generations. In second plaee was Breeze Ann Kalehuaonālani Vidinha Pavao of Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana 0 Lein'ala under the direction of Kumu Hula Leina'ala Pavao Jardin, and in third plaee was Meleāna Kamalani Mirafuentes of Hālau Nā Mamo 0 Pu'uanahulu under the direction of nā Kumu Hula William "Sonny" _Ching and Lōpaka lgarta-De Vera. Brown is the third consecutive dancer from Ka Lā 'Onohi Mai 0 Ha'eha'e to be named Miss Aloha Hula. Last year, the honor went to Pi'ikea Lopes, the daughter of Tracie and Keawe Lopes, and in 2021, their hula sister Rosemary Keamoai-Strickland was named Miss Aloha Hula. - Photo: Bruce 0mori/Merrie Monarch Festival