April 5 to 11 in Hilo

>> Ho‘olaule‘a, 9 a.m. April 5 at Afook Chinen Civic Auditorium, 323 Manono St.; free.

>> Invitational Hawaiian Arts Fair, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 8 to 10, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 11, at Afook Chinen Civic Auditorium; free.

>> Ho‘ike, 6 p.m. April 8 at Edith Kanaka ‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium, 350 Kalani koa St.; free.

>> Hula competition begins 6 p.m. nightly: April 9, Miss Aloha Hula; April 10, group kahiko; April 11, group auana and announcement of winners; at Edith Kanaka ‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium; check for tickets.

>> Merrie Monarch Royal Parade, 10:30 a.m. April 11, downtown Hilo. Visit merriemonarch.com.

COVERAGE

On KFVE The Home Team

>> A special “HI*Sessions” from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday features musicians who have performed at Merrie Monarch.

>> Live coverage of the Merrie Monarch competition starting at 6 p.m., with encores at 11 a.m. the following day. (Live streaming available at kfve.com.)

>> “Best of Merrie Monarch Festival 2015” will air 8 p.m. April 19.

ONLINE

>> Elizabeth Kieszkowski’s daily blog posts on the Merrie Monarch festivities in Hilo, starting April 7; follow on Twitter at @StarTGIF.

>> Nina Wu reports on the hula competition, with results, interviews and observations; follow on Twitter at @ecotraveler.

>> Also, festival schedule, photo galleries, past year’s coverage and more.