Keiki Hula

Each time we visit Maui we enjoy driving up to Lahaina to visit the Cannery on Sunday afternoon to see the Keiki Hula. Sometimes it is truly children doing the hula other time there will be the full range in age from 3 years to late teens The number of participants will also vary. It always if fun to watch the young dancers and you leave with a special feeling about the kids up on stage doing their best while their Moms and Dads watch and join the tourist taking pictures.

This year we were very lucky to have one of the largest, most talented, and most diverse groups we have seen. Maybe it was because the next weekend was the hula contest at one of the local hotels or maybe it was just the luck of the draw. There were fifteen dancers and three of them were boys, or should I say young men. That is the most male dancers I think I have seen at these shows. It was announced that many of the dancers would be competing the next weekend and I wish them the best. I will not know how well they did but I enjoyed there dancing.

The dancing included the full range of hula from all the islands and required many costume changes and the use of a great variety of props. It is always a great show but I think this time was one of the best and it is a FREE, what a deal. Of course they do have their basket out and the Mothers were selling Hawaiian Sweet Bread to raise money for the group. I was more than happy to participate in both. The bread was delicious and it is not a small task to collect all the costumes, props, and other material needed for a show. They even had very good live music to accompany them in their dancing.