Ladies of Aloha return to Kahilu
Ladies of Aloha return to Kahilu
The Ladies of Aloha — Kuuipo Kumukahi, Darlene Ahuna and Karen Keawehawaii — return to Kahilu Theatre on Sunday.
The concert, sponsored by the Waimea Chapter of Ahahui Kaahumanu, gets underway at 2 p.m. A portion of the proceeds benefits a Benevolence Fund to aid chapter members needing financial assistance for health-related expenses. Tickets range in price from $25 to $35 and can be purchased online at www.kahilutheatre.org or by calling 885-6868.
Kumukahi hails from Hawaii Island and is a self-taught musician influenced by family songs, Hawaiian singers and her parents. She is a multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award nominee and winner who appears Mondays and Wednesdays at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and on Fridays at Duke’s at the Outrigger Hotel Waikiki. She has also performed at Aloha Festivals, Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, Waikii Music Festival and Bank of Hawaii Ki Hoalu Concert, as well as many others.
Ahuna is also a multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner, including “Female Vocalist of the Year.” She has performed at festivals and concerts throughout the State and on the mainland, as well as headlining major performances in Japan. Her powerful renditions of traditional, hula and hapa-haole Hawaiian songs soar with grace.
Keawehawaii began her career with The Kaleos during her senior year at Farrington High School and the Laughing Kahunas her freshman year at the University of Hawaii. For nearly a decade, the Kahunas played casual gigs at clubs, then finally landing long-running engagements at the Kahala Hilton Hala Terrace and the Hilton Hawaiian Village Dome. She won her first major music title in 1980 capturing “Most Promising Artist” at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. Her “Rhythms of the Islands” album earned her “Female Vocalist of the Year” by the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts, an honor that she reclaimed in 1984. In 1993, she won the “Entertainer of the Year” award from Honolulu Magazine.
Hula Kahiko continues at Volcano Art Center
The Volcano Art Center’s 2015 Hula Kahiko series continues Saturday at 10:30am with a performance by Halau Hula Kalehuakiekieikaiu under the direction of Kumu hula Ab Valencia.
This performance is part of a year-round series sponsored by the Volcano Art Center. For the series, hula halau from across Hawaii are invited to perform each month in a one-of-a-kind outdoor setting at the kahua hula (platform) within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. These performances are presented authentically in an outdoor setting, rain or shine without electronic amplification. Audience members are encouraged to bring sun/rain gear and sitting mats.
Held in conjunction with the Hula Kahiko performances, the public is invited to join members of the halau on the lanai of the Volcano Art Gallery as they share “Na Mea Hula” (all things hula). During the event, attendees can also learn about various hula implements and try their hand at lei making.
These free events are supported in part by a grant from the County of Hawaii Department of Research and Development and the Hawaii Tourism Authority. National Park entrance fees apply.
The Volcano Art Center is a nonprofit educational organization created in 1974 to promote, develop, and perpetuate the artistic and cultural heritage of Hawaii’s people and environment through activities in the visual, literary, and performing arts.
Visit www.volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222 for more information.