Also known as E Ho`i Mai I Ka Piko Hula, the World Invitational Hula Festival was held annually at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawai`i. The festival celebrated the culture, art, history, and language of Hawai`i. It offered an opportunity for those who do not live in Hawai`i to take part in a hula competition. Hula groups from all over the world, including the mainland U.S., Guam, Japan, Mexico, and Europe participated in the festival.
Hālau Hula O Nā Mele `Āina O Hawai`i was first invited to participate in the festival in November 2004. Twenty wahine and one kane started training in the early part of 2004 to learn an `oli, kahiko, and auana that was choreographed by Luana. The New York Times featured the hālau in an article as they prepared for the festival. The group spent a week in Honolulu prior to the competition to take part in other workshops and other performances, including a performance at the Bishop Musuem. At the end of the festival, the hālau took two awards home: the Kuluwaimaka Achievement Award (Hawaiian language award) and the Henry Mo’ikeha O Kahiki Pa Achievement Award (top combined score). Both awards were from Kaipo Bridges’ performance.
In November 2007, the hālau returned for the second time to represent New York at the festival. The event ran from November 8-10 at the Waikiki Shell. Sixteen wahine participated in the Wahine Hālau category, and three kane and three wahine participated in the Combined Hālau category. They shared their hula with hālaus from countries including Japan, Mexico, Columbia, and the Philippines. At the end of the festival, the hālau was proud to take home three awards:
- EDITH KEKUHI KANAKA‘OLE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – highest achievement in combined language scores
- ROSE KAPULANI JOSHUA ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS – presented to the Combined Hālau with the highest achievement in traditional and in contemporary hula and language performance.
See below for videos from our performance at the World Invitational Hula Festival competition in Honolulu, HI.