The 2009 Merrie Monarch Festival

The main attraction of the festival is of course the Hula Competition, which is like the world series of Hula.

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The Competition takes place at the Edith Kanaka'ole Stadium in Hilo.

Hula Halaus from all over the world come to this event every year to compete for the honor of winning first place.

There are five competitions.

The solo Miss Aloha Hula Competition on Thursday the 16th is the first.

Then on the 17th and 18th, there is the Kane and Wahine divisons of the Kahiko(ancient) and Auana(modern) competitions.

Besides the competition and the Ho'olaulea, throughout the week there is also craft booths and workshops.

A Little History of the Merrie Monarch Festival

The first festival was in 1971 for those of us that don't want to do the math.

The festival is dedicated to the Merrie Monarch himself, King David Kalakua, King of the Hawaiian Kingdom from 1874 till 1891.

Historians credit him with the survival of Hula and a many of the traditional chants.

Hula was on its way out, till King Kalakaua revived the spirit, and supported Halaus(dance troops) across the Kingdom.

Since the Hawaiians had no written language, the chants and stories told by the dancers were the way Hawaiians kept track of history.

Without King Kalakaua, much of this history would have been lost.

It would make him proud to see the amount of intrest taken in the festival today, and that the ancient practices and stories are very much intact.

To leave our page on the 2009 Merrie Monarch Festival and see some videos from the past festivals, follow this link

To learn more about the Festival and get the winners from last year, follow this link