Free daily hula performances showcase local hālau, bring energy during Merrie Monarch Festival

While tickets sell out fast to the three competition nights of the Merrie Monarch Festival, local hālau provide an opportunity for the public to experience and appreciate hula during daily daytime — and free — performances at hotels.

Every year, the large Banyan Drive hotels, the Grand Naniloa and the Hilo Hawaiian, host performances during lunchtime featuring Hawaiʻi Island hālau from Monday to Friday.

“On the surface level, the hālau have the chance to showcase what they’re learning, new skills, and the collective knowledge they have gained,” kumu hula Meleana Manuel said. “The daytime performances serve as an opening to each day of the festival, and they keep the momentum going.”

The participating hālau have become an integral part of the Merrie Monarch Festival, especially when it comes to integrating visitors and residents for a couple hours of Hawaiian cultural appreciation.

“All of these performances are a true display of hula that involve everyone at every age and every gender,” Manuel said. “Hula is our way of telling the stories of who we are historically and culturally.”

These performances give hālau the chance to show visitors what hula truly is, who performs it, and why it is so important.

“Hula brings us to an essential place within ourselves as Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiian) and goes beyond just making a statement,” Manuel said. “It identifies us in our thoughts and beliefs.”

Manuel directs the Volcano-based Hālau Ke ʻOlu Makani O Mauna Loa, which will open the week of entertainment at noon today with a performance with local music group Ben Kaili and Friends at the Grand Naniloa Hotel.

“I think the daytime shows have become a tradition because they give Hawaiʻi Island residents who may work through the week the chance to enjoy a cultural performance during a lunch break,” Manuel said. “Families and friends can come to the hotels to watch their loved ones – keiki to kūpuna – showcase the skills they’ve learned for free.”

The daytime shows also give nontraditional groups the opportunity to perform for eager audiences. The Tahitian-style hula group Merahi will be the only group featured at both the Grand Naniloa Hotel and next door at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel.

Under the direction of Tiffany Cruz, keiki and adults will dance in the Polynesian style of hula, which is quite different from traditional Hawaiian hālau and is often a crowd favorite for the daytime performances.

The shows at the Grand Naniloa Hotel will continue through Friday beginning at noon. Performances include:

• Tuesday: Hālau Nā Mamo O Ka Liko Maile O Kohala from Keaʻau
  • Kumu hula Francis Kapuaoiokepamemaile Francisco
• Wednesday: Hālau Nāwehiokaipoaloha from Keaʻau
  • Kumu hula Ipolei Lindsey-Asing 
• Thursday: Merahi from Keaukaha
  • Tiffany Dela Cruz
• Friday: Hālau Kaleo A Kealilapalapa from Kaʻū
  • Kumu hula Keahikaaiohelo Naoho Kanahele

Next door on Banyan Drive, the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel will host daily performances beginning at 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. They include:

• Monday: Waiākea High School’s Ka Leo Wai from Hilo
  • Nā kumu Ishael Shaw-De Mello, Lisa Kamalani and Kapuanani Kawewehi
• Tuesday: Merahi from Keaukaha
  • Tiffany Dela Cruz
• Wednesday: Hālau Hula ‘O Leionalani from Kailua-Kona
  • Kumu hula Debbie Ryder 
• Thursday: Hālau Hula Keali‘i o Nalani from California
  • Kumu hula Keali‘i Ceballos 
• Friday: Hālau Ha‘a Kea o Kinohi  from Hilo
  • Kumu hula Paul Neves

The daytime performances traditionally showcase Hawaiʻi Island hālau, which are made up of groups of varying demographics such as young keiki, students, adolescents, kūpuna, kāne, wahine and mixed-gender.

“We love to promote these daily performances because we have incredible hālau from Hawaiʻi Island who don’t often dance in the competition, but truly showcase what hula can do for the community,” Merrie Monarch organizer Kathy Kawelu said. “These performances are also great for our residents who may not be able to go to the competition but still want to take in every part of the festival.”

Several groups from Hawaiʻi Island will be performing during the mākeke (markets) and craft fairs that will be ongoing throughout the week.

Performances during the Merrie Monarch Hawaiian Arts and Crafts Fair will begin on Wednesday. Featured hālau include:

• Wednesday
  • Hui from Pāhoa Middle and High School at 9:30 a.m.
  • Hula Hālau ʻO Kealakahi from Hāmākua at 11 a.m.
    • Kumu Camille Duebel-Mahuna
  • Hui from Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi (Keaʻau) at 12:30 p.m.
• Thursday
  • Hui Kanikapila from Hawaiian Academy of Arts and Science (Pāhoa) at 9:30 a.m.
  • Halau Ke ‘Olu Makani O Mauna Loa from Volcano at 11 a.m. 
    • Kumu hula Meleana Manuel
• Friday 
  • Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo from Keaʻau
    • Kumu hula Pelehonuamea and Kekoa Harman at 11 a.m.
• Saturday
  • Lori Leiʻs Hula Studio from Nāʻālehu at 9:30 a.m.
  • Ke Ola Pono No Nā Kupuna from Pāhoa at 11 a.m.
    • Kumu Haunani Medeiros

The Island Nations makeke at Ka Waiona, 196 Kamehameha Avenue, is a three-day event from Wednesday to Friday. There will be cultural demonstrations, lei workshops, local vendors, live music and two hālau performances. They include:

• Thursday: Hālau Nā Mamo from Keaʻau under kumu hula Pelehonuamea and Kekoa Harman at 1 p.m.
• Friday: Hālau Unuēwe from Hilo under kumu hula Malu Dudoitat at 1 p.m.

The SCP Hilo Hotel will be hosting Mele Manaka 2025 Community Fair from during the Merrie Monarch Festival. While the three-day event will feature plenty of local bands and musicians, they will have two hālau performances as well. They include:

• Thursday: Hālau Nāwehiokaipoaloha from Keaʻau under the direction of kumu hula Ipolei Lindsey-Asing 
• Friday: Hālau O Kauluola from Hilo under nā kumu hula Noʻeau & Pōlanimakamae Kahakalau-Kalima

For more information on craft fairs, makeke, live music and hālau performances, the 2025 Merrie Monarch Events Guide is updated live and available online.