Merrie Monarch Festival
The Merrie Monarch Festival always begins on Easter Sunday !
The week-long festivities begin with a Ho’olaulea (music festival) on Moku Ola (Coconut Island) on Easter Sunday and continues all week with free noon-day entertainment at the Hawaii Naniloa Resort and the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel on Banyan Drive. On Wednesday, there is a free exhibition night at the Edith Kanaka’ole Tennis Stadium that begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday is the solo Miss Aloha Hula Competition, Friday and Saturday are the group Kahiko (Ancient) and ‘Auana (Modern) hula competitions. There are arts and crafts fairs on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at several locations. The big Merrie Monarch Royal Parade winds through downtown Hilo at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Except for the hula competition, the events are free.
The Merrie Monarch Festival is a domestic non-profit organization registered with the State of Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
Begun forty years ago by the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce and continued by the private Merrie Monarch Festival community organization, the major purpose of the festival is the perpetuation, preservation, and promotion of the art of hula and the Hawaiian culture through education. The festival is considered the world’s premier forum for people of all ages to display their skills and knowledge of the art of ancient and modern hula.