IN 2005, Raiatea Helm took the stage with "Auntie" Genoa Keawe for a duet that many regard as one of the Windward Hoolaulea’s all-time highlights.
The two gifted performers represented the "bookends" of Hawaiian music. Then just 21 years old, Helm was a rising star who had already won four Na Hoku Hanohano awards (the Grammys of the local music industry). With a career spanning more than 60 years, the 86-year-old Keawe, also a multiple Hoku recipient, was the beloved mentor of many top local entertainers.
"They played separate sets, then came together to sing ‘Alika,’ Auntie Genoa’s signature song," recalled Bonnie Beatson, marketing and public relations director of Windward Community College, which has spearheaded the hoolaulea with the Kaneohe Business Group for the past 12 years. "Their performance was magical — a memory to treasure, especially since Auntie Genoa passed away three years later."
The Windward Hoolaulea’s theme is "A Homegrown Celebration," which conveys the event’s down-home, grass-roots appeal. Beatson, a member of the event’s steering committee, recalls many "chicken-skin" moments.
A notable guest in 2004 was Castle High School graduate Bryan Clay, who won a silver medal in the Summer Olympics’ decathlon that year. One of his admirers was a little girl who was proudly wearing a bronze medal she had won at the American Lung Association’s Asthma Sports Camp.
As she took pictures with Clay and got his autograph, the girl talked about her dream of competing in gymnastics and track-and-field events at the Olympics one day — something she knew was possible because Clay also has asthma.
In 2007, Chris and Rosario Tarvyd sold 600 crepes at the Windward Hoolaulea, which inspired them to open Crepes No Ka Oi in Kailua the following year. The restaurant has been a phenomenal success, and the Tarvyds are grateful the hoolaulea gave them their start. Because of that, they return every year to personally man a booth.
ABOUT WINDWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Established in 1972, Windward Community College serves 2,800 students annually. It offers associate degree programs in liberal arts, Hawaiian studies and veterinary technology. Agricultural technology, plant biotechnology, bioresources management, psychosocial development and marine options are among its 16 certificate programs.
WCC also provides noncredit career and community education, and is home to the state-of-the-art Imaginarium Planetarium and Lani?huli Observatory; Hale Pala?na?kila, an arts and humanities complex that includes Paliku Theatre and Gallery Iolani; Atelier Hawaii, the only six-week intensive classical realism drawing and painting workshop in the state; and the Library Learning Commons, a new three-story, 69,000-square-foot learning center that houses a library, a multimedia production studio, computer labs and rooms for tutoring, group work and public lectures and presentations. For more information, visit www.windward.hawaii.edu.
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"The Windward Hoolaulea is a wonderful family event that showcases the talent and businesses in our community," Beatson said. "It supports programs and scholarships at WCC, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary (see sidebar), making this year’s festival extra special."
As usual, there will be local crafts, ono food, children’s activities, educational displays, cultural demonstrations, a silent auction, a white elephant sale, a business trade show and great entertainment (this year’s headliners include Grammy winner John Cruz and Na Hoku Hanohano winner Teresa Bright).
WCC’s new Library Learning Commons will be open for self-guided tours from 1 to 5 p.m. During that time there will be screenings of the documentary "Queenie: Spirit of a Dancer," in which Queenie Ventura Dowsett describes how hula and her teacher, the esteemed kumu hula Iolani Luahine, influenced her life. Also shown in a continuous loop will be three- to 10-minute oral histories of 21 other respected hula masters, including George Naope, Nona Beamer, George Holokai and Kent Ghirard.
The films complement a Hula Preservation Society traveling exhibit, "75 Years of the Hawaiian Room at the Lexington Hotel." From 1937 to 1962, Hawaii’s best singers, dancers and musicians delighted audiences in that famous New York venue, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
On view in WCC’s library through Nov. 2, the exhibit features photographs, newspaper clippings and oral histories of some of the "Ex-Lexes," the entertainers who traveled across an ocean and a continent to share their aloha in the Hawaiian Room.
Demonstrations of woodcarving, raku firing, lau hala weaving and laau lapaau (Hawaiian medicinal herbs) are sure to be popular diversions. Four dozen booths will entice passers-by with everything from lomilomi massage, fresh produce and locally made jams, sauces and syrups to handcrafted jewelry, floral arrangements and Hawaiian quilts.
WCC students will play a major role in the festivities. For example, there will be free blood pressure readings by students in the Certified Nurse’s Aide Program; an orchid sale and plant identification by botany and biotechnology students; and "Confluence 3," an exhibit of ceramics, sculpture, photography, drawings, paintings, printmaking, screen printing and other artwork by students in fine art studio classes.
If all this isn’t reason enough to attend the Windward Hoolaulea and help WCC observe a red-letter anniversary, Beatson has more. "With the Koolau Mountains as a backdrop, WCC has one of the most beautiful campuses in the state," she said. "Giant banyan trees line the Great Lawn, and there’s plenty of parking and open space for crowds to roam around. The vibe is happy and laid-back."
And there’s the camaraderie. "It’s uplifting to see 15,000 people come together to have fun, appreciate the lovely surroundings, reconnect with old friends and make new ones," Beatson said. "When the sun sets, it feels like a backyard jam session. People sing along with the performers, kupuna (elders) jump up to do the hula, and both visitors and kamaaina are embraced in the spirit of ohana (family)."
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Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.
