Pi‘ikea Lopes wins Miss Aloha Hula 2022, following in mother’s footsteps

Following in her mother’s footsteps, Pi‘ikea Kekihenelehua­wewehiikekau‘onohi Lopes won the Miss Aloha Hula crown Thursday during the first night of the 59th annual Merrie Monarch Festival hula competition at Edith Kanaka‘ole Stadium in Hilo.

Lopes is a member of the Ka La ‘Onohi Mai o Ha‘eha‘e halau under the direction of her parents, Tracie and Keawe Lopes.

Tracie Lopes was the Miss Aloha Hula winner in 1994.

Her daughter topped the other nine dancers in Thursday’s competition with a judges’ score of 1,168 points, also winning the Hawaiian Language Award with a perfect score of 50.

Last year’s winner of the Miss Aloha Hula competition was Rosemary Kaʻimilei Keamoai-Strickland, also danced for the Lopeses’ halau.

The scores of the four Miss Aloha Hula runners-up were separated by no more than 11 points.

Auli‘ionapualokekuonaona Jon- Marie Hisayo Faurot, of Hula Halau ‘o Kamuela, finished with 1,105 points; Marina La‘akea Choi, of Halau Hi‘iakainamakalehua, scored 1,097 points; Manaia Kawaipuamaka­nakau‘ikawekiumekanoeu‘iokeolamai­kalaniakea Dalire Moe, of Halau Ka Liko Pua o Kalaniakea, scored 1,095 points; and Kyleigh Hokuao Manuel-Sagon, of Halau Kekuaokala­‘au‘ala‘iliahi, was a single point behind at 1,094 points.

The Merrie Monarch hula competition concludes Saturday with auana, or modern-style, performances by the 18 participating halau in the group division, with the winners to be announced in the late evening. Friday night saw them perform kahiko, or ancient-style, hula.