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April 15th, 2008
5th U.S.-Japan Cultural Exchange Seminar Program
“The First Citizen: Joseph Heco and the Opening of U.S.-Japan Relations”
 The theme for Honolulu Festival’s 5th U.S.-Japan Cultural Exchange Seminar Program held at the Hawaii Convention Center on March 15th was “Joseph Heco”. Perhaps his name is not familiar to many of us, however, Heco was the first Japanese to become an American citizen 150 years ago at the end of the Edo era. [read more]
April 11th, 2008
 Halko Momoi moving forward and brings Japan’s beloved Anime Culture (Akihabara Culture) overseas to Hawaii!
There have been many performance groups in the past that have promoted cultural understanding and ethnic harmony at the Honolulu Festival. And this year we were able to add Anime Culture, a culture that Japan is very proud of by way of Halko Momoi, famous Japanese anime voice actress. [read more]
April 4th, 2008
 5th Annual Maui Mikoshi Design Contest
Unveiling Ceremony held at the Hawaii Convention Center!
Kamehameha High School, Maui Campus won the 5th Annual Maui Mikoshi Design Contest for the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival. They were the winners for the second straight year. [read more]
April 3rd, 2008
 Crafts from Hawaii and Japan
at the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival
See, Buy and Experience!
The 14th Annual Honolulu Festival Craft Fair was held at the Hawaii Convention Center on March 15th and March 16th. The Craft Fair consisted of over 100 booths from Hawaii and Japan. [read more]
April 3rd, 2008
Mainland U.S. school band performers came to the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival!
 The 14th Annual Honolulu Festival not only included school band representation from local junior high and high schools but also from the mainland U.S.A. They included the Lake Highland Preparatory School Band and Choir from Florida, the Potomac Falls High School Band from Virginia and the Toby Johnson Middle School Band from California. [read more]
April 1st, 2008
The 14th Annual Honolulu Festival’s Friendship Gala
Cuisine from Hawaii’s Famous Restaurants and Awaodori Excitement!
 The annual Friendship Gala was held on March 15th, Saturday at the Hawaii Convention Center from 7:00 pm. This is held each year as a fundraiser for the Honolulu Festival Foundation. It is a wonderful opportunity to promote friendship and goodwill among the participating performers from all over the Pacific Rim, our local corporate supporters and the public. [read more]
March 31st, 2008
Four Magnificent Performance Stages at the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival
 With four performance stages all in the vicinity of Waikiki, performers were able to rotate among the four stages and share their acts with many spectators. So many types of performances could be seen. There were the powerful ones, the ones that had a very calming effect and the ones where the audience could participate. Here are some of the highlights in case you overlooked some of them. Can’t wait to see next year’s performances at these various stages! [read more]
March 27th, 2008
Annual School Excursion + Honolulu Festival
=Truly a Pacific Harmony Experience
 In Japan it is customary for high school students to plan a school excursion once a year. In the past most of the trips were taken within Japan but lately going overseas has become a popular alternative. This is the third year that the Sonoda Gakuen High School students from Hyogo Prefecture organized their school excursion to coincide with the Honolulu Festival.
[ read more ]
March 26th, 2008
"Mahalo to Local Media"
 The 14th Annual Honolulu Festival supported by the local media coverage was able to draw thousands of spectators to its 3-day cultural extravaganza from March 14th through March 16th. The Foundation would like to thank the local media, radio, television and newspapers, for coming out to cover the events.
[ read more ]
March 25th, 2008
Hawaiian Quilts at the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival
 The 14th Annual Honolulu Festival highlighted Hawaiian Quilts at the Hawaii Convention Center by featuring Poakalani & Co., the well known Hawaiian quilting company owned by Oahu’s John Serrao and family. A display of over 60 quilts made by the students of Poakalani & Co. was displayed on March 15-16, 2008. Quilt demonstrations and workshops were also part of the program. The workshops demonstrated all the steps involved in making a quilt from pattern designing to the final stitching of it. The Hawaiian Quilt Corner was a huge success. [ read more ]
March 24th, 2008
Educational School Tours-What was it all about?
 A very important goal of the Honolulu Festival is to share the rich and vibrant blend of Asia, Pacific and Hawaiian cultures with the young people of Hawaii. Each year Hawaii students from elementary to high school are invited to an exclusive behind-the-scene tour of exhibits brought to Honolulu from various countries of the Pacific for the Festival. This is a wonderful opportunity for the young people of Hawaii to get a close-up look at the displays as well as interact with the Festival artisans and performers. [ read more ]
March 21st, 2008
Ennichi Corner at the Honolulu Festival-A Big Hit with the Kids
 A new event at the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival was the Ennichi Corner. This was a replica of a typical Japanese Saint’s Day festival. The area had a variety of games for the children to play, Japanese style. There was the goldfish scooping contest where children were given scoopers made of paper. [ read more ]
March 20th, 2008
Kisarazu Kazusaren Choose Honolulu Over Hokkaido To Perform the Yosakoi Soran
 The dance group from Kisarazu City in Chiba Prefecture known as Kisarazu Kazusaren led by Ms. Yasuko Kondo had always wanted to dance Yosakoi Soran in a tropical country. So this year instead of going to the annual Yosakoi Soran Festival in Hokkaido they decided to perform at the Honolulu Festival. This is their first time to participate in the Honolulu Festival.
Wearing their colorful and ornate happi designed by Kansai Yamamoto, the group performed a powerful and energetic Yosakoi Soran under the beautiful blue skies at Waikiki Beach Walk. The group’s average age is 60 and the oldest member is 73. And although the ladies could not understand a word of English that the audience spoke, they seemed to understand that the audience was very happy to see their performance. The dancers and the spectators were able to communicate through their hearts and once again were able to promote cultural exchange, goodwill and friendship. After all, that is what the Honolulu Festival is all about.
March 20th, 2008
Kurume Jojima Ryujindaiko from Fukuoka Makes its First Appearance at the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival
 The taiko group from Fukuoka called Kurume Jojima Ryujindaiko made its first appearance this year at the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival. They were magnificent. There is something magical about wadaiko (Japanese taiko). The vibration from the beating of the drums can be felt to the core of your body and the intensity of the reverberation is an exciting experience that can be felt by all the spectators during their performance.
This was the first time for the group to perform overseas. They do not have many opportunities to perform on stage in Japan therefore this was a great opportunity for them. It was very stimulating and motivating for the group.
The members of the Kurume Jojima Ryujindaiko were very happy to be able to share their traditional performance with the people of Hawaii and other countries. The Foundation hopes that they will return next year. Hana Hou! (Hawaiian word for “Encore Please”)
March 19th, 2008
14th Annual Honolulu Festival
Grand Parade-Kalakaua Avenue Packed with Crowd!
 The 14th Annual Honolulu Festival Grand Parade started just in time at 4:30 from the corner of Saratoga Road and Kalakaua Avenue. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and the crowds had started sitting along side the curbs and the grassy areas in Waikiki before 3:30. All the performers were busy getting ready for their turn, excited and yet nervous. The last minute preparation of the floats from Japan such as the Daijayama, Ryujin and Hirosaki Neputa were being completed.
Once the Parade began all the spectators began to cheer with huge smiles on their faces. [ read more ]
March 18th, 2008
 14th Annual Honolulu Festival
Grand Prize drawings
The Honolulu Festival Foundation would like to thank all those who attended and participated in the drawings.
[ See winners ] |
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