The 2018 Hula Kahiko series kicks off at Volcano Art Center on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. with a performance by Nā kumu hula Pelehonuamea Harman and Kekoa Harman with Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo.

The students of Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo come from the Hawaiian language immersion K-12 school—Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu. For the past seven years, its mission has been to perpetuate the Hawaiian language and culture through mele and hula. All classes are conducted through the medium of Hawaiian.

This performance is part of a year-round series sponsored by the Volcano Art Center. For the series, hula hālau from across Hawai‘i are invited to perform each month in a one-of-a-kind outdoor setting at the kahua hula (platform) in the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. These performances are presented authentically in an outdoor setting, rain or shine without electronic amplification. Audience members are encouraged to bring sun/rain gear and sitting mats.

Held in conjunction with the Hula Kahiko performances, the public is invited to join Native Hawaiian practitioner Kaʻiulani Carvalho on the lanai of the Volcano Art Gallery from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., for a Nā Mea Hula demonstration.

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Carvalho was born in Hilo and raised in Puna. She is a 2012 graduate of Ke Kula ʻO Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu, a Hawaiian language immersion public charter school. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian studies and psychology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and is currently pursuing certification from Kahuawaiola—the Indigenous Teacher Education Graduate Program. For her Nā Mea Hula debut, Carvalho will be presenting a workshop on the art of ‘Ohe Kapala, bamboo stamping.

These free events are supported in part by a grant from the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Research and Development and the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority and individual funding from members of the Volcano Art Center’s ʻohana. National Park entrance fees may apply.

The Volcano Art Center is a nonprofit educational organization created in 1974 to promote, develop, and perpetuate the artistic and cultural heritage of Hawai‘i’s people and environment through activities in the visual, literary, and performing arts. For more information, visit the Volcano Art Center website or call (808) 967-8222.