UH Hilo hosts weeklong cultural enrichment programs to celebrate Merrie Monarch Festival
UH Hilo honors the 2025 Merrie Monarch Festival with a week of enrichment programs rooted in culture, creativity, and connection.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is honoring the 2025 Merrie Monarch Festival with a weeklong celebration rooted in culture, creativity, and connection.
Starting April 22, UH Hilo’s Kahikuonālani Merrie Monarch cultural enrichment programs will bring together students, faculty and community members for a series of events at UH Hilo that honor the legacy of hula.
Kahikuonālani is a poetic name for King Kalākaua, meaning “the seventh of the heavens,” honoring his chiefly lineage. As the “Merrie Monarch,” Kalākaua is celebrated for his dedication to revitalizing Hawaiian culture, hula and traditions during a time of great change.
“The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s celebration of the Merrie Monarch Festival allows us to honor the deep scholarship embedded in hula, elevate the voices of practitioners and scholars alike, foster community collaboration, and reaffirm our kuleana (responsibility) to use our ʻike (knowledge) to serve Hawaiʻi,” says Pelehonuamea Harman, director of Native Hawaiian engagement at UH Hilo.
April 22
Kahikuonālani Mākeke featuring local retail and food vendors
10 a.m.–2 p.m., Campus Center Plaza
April 23 and 24
Cultural presentations and special pop-up exhibit featuring Merrie Monarch history
11 a.m. Mookini Library
April 25
Live music and grab-and-go lunch (while available)
Noon–1:30 p.m., Campus Center Dining Hall Lānai
A free UH Hilo shuttle will run on April 23 through April 26 connecting campus to craft fairs and the Merrie Monarch parade route in Hilo town. UH Hilo will also host an outreach booth at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
Lei making, live music
UH Hilo’s ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, a major hub for the celebration, is offering hands-on experiences such as hula workshops, lei wili (twist-style lei making), and lauhala weaving.
“ʻImiloa exists at the intersection of tradition and innovation, and Merrie Monarch week is a powerful reminder of how our ancestral practices continue to evolve and inspire,” says Kaʻiu Kimura, executive director at ʻImiloa. “These programs are not just about observation—they’re about participation. We’re inviting our community to experience the depth of ʻike passed down through hula, storytelling and cultural practice in ways that resonate today.”
Full schedule of ʻImiloa events.
Keepers of knowledge
A lineup of respected cultural practitioners will lead presentations throughout the week offering an immersive path into Hawaiian knowledge — whether through movement, material or moʻolelo (stories). Sessions will spotlight practitioners including Kekuhi Kealiʻikanakaʻoleohaililani, Taupōuri Tangarō, Kaʻea Lyons-Yglesias, Lehua Hauanio, Kaʻohu Seto, Kimo Keaulana, Pele Harman, Kekoa Harman, Umi Kai, Keani Kaleimamahu, Cy Bridges, Leialoha Ilae-Kaleimamahu, and Aulii Mitchell.
