Kuleana & Community Talk Story: The Merrie Monarch Festival - Event Details
This event has concluded and is no longer current.
Kuleana & Community Talk Story: The Merrie Monarch Festival
Location: Kilohana (1st floor of Mookini Library)
Kuleana & Community Talk Story
The Merrie Monarch Festival: a History of Kuleana to Community and Culture
Join our final Kuleana and Community Talk Story of the semester with Luana and Kathy Kawelu!
Luana Kawelu, the Festival President, is a graduate of UH Hilo, who retired after more than 40 years as a social worker for the Queen Liliʻuokalani Children’s Center. Her daughter Kathy Kawelu teaches in the Anthropology Department at UH Hilo.
In this talk, we present the history of the Merrie Monarch Festival from its practical beginnings in the 1960s, to its current mission that seeks to promote and perpetuate hula and Hawaiian culture. Kuleana to community, culture, practice, and family permeate the festival’s history, and contributes to the event’s longevity. This kuleana is not only carried by our family, but also the kumu and their hālau, artists, musicians, pāʻū riders, and the many volunteers working behind the scenes that ensure a successful festival.
Friday, November 14, 2025
12 noon - 1 p.m.
Kilohana: The Academic Success Center (1st floor of Edwin Mookini Library)
Open to the public.
Light refreshments will be served.
Sponsored by UH Hilo Chancellor’s Office, Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center, Kilohana: The Academic Success Center, Dr. Colby Miyose, Vanessa Carlson, Dr. Alton Okinaka, and the Center for Global Education and Exchange.
For more information, contact: corink@hawaii.edu (808) 932-7294
Tags: Kilohana Kuleana and Community Talk Story Chancellor's Office Kuleana International Merrie Monarch community chancellor
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