Prince Lot Hula Festival goes virtual

An important modern tradition in Hawaiian culture is being honored in an imaginative new form Thursday as the Moanalua Gardens Foundation presents the 43rd annual Prince Lot Hula Festival as a two-hour television special.

Viewers will see 11 halau presenting a mixture of hula kahiko (ancient hula) and hula auana (modern hula) in performances filmed earlier this year at various locations at the Queen Emma Summer Palace in full compliance with state and county COVID-19 protocols.

A highlight of the show will be a special performance by 2020 Malia Kau Award recipient kumu hula Leimomi Ho and Keali‘ika‘apunihonua Ke‘ena A‘o Hula.

Showtime is 7 p.m. Thursday on KHON, with simultaneous streaming on KHON’s website and YouTube channel. The festival will be rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 on KHON and at 8 p.m. Nov. 8 on KHII. It will be posted on the Moanalua Gardens Foundation’s Facebook page and YouTube channel on Nov. 16. Additional content will be added on Dec. 1.

The Prince Lot Hula Festival was founded in 1978 as a noncompetitive celebration of traditional and modern hula in honor of Prince Lot Kapuaiwa, a staunch advocate of traditional pre-Christian Hawaiian culture, including hula, who reigned as Kamehameha V from 1863 to 1872.

For additional information or to make a donation, visit moanaluagardensfoundation.org.