I knew some of the performers and some of the kumu hula who entertained that day - I had their CDs, or had watched their Merrie Monarch performances. The two day festival was a wonder, and a preview of things to come.
Cautioned not to jump into any specific hula situation until I had time to look them over, I chose to join Hollis Baker's ukulele class in Hayward. They played during the festival, and I loved their sound and the look of the women who danced during their songs.
During my first class, I sat next to a Hawaiian woman who had a lovely voice and beautiful posture. She urged me to stay after class for hula taught by Aunty Harriet Spalding.
The singer is Pearl Ho`omalu Lopez, and LaDania is her daughter. We've been friends ever since. I ended up singing and playing for Uncle Hollis for many years. Through this class, I met Uncle John Ogao, who made the 8-string ukulele I play. And, I was Aunty Harriet's hula student until a stroke ended her career.
So, it's no wonder that I consider the Aloha Festival an anniversary. It's also memorable to regular attendees: The 1997 edition was its last appearance at Chrissy Field - it moved to the Presidio Parade Grounds the next year.
This year was special in another way. Not since my first Aloha Festival have I not been a participant. When I went to the 1998 Aloha Festival, I performed with two bands - Uncle Hollis's Kaleponi Strings and Uncle Kem Tung-Loong's Royal Hawaiian Ukulele Band - but I also danced with Aunty Harriet's Kaleponi Dancers.
When I returned to California from Texas in 2007, I rejoined Uncle Kem's band, which meets at his restaurant in Berkeley, just in time to perform with the band that year at the festival. However, earlier this year I was graduated from the band, and got to sit this performance out.
It had been a long time since I could attend the festival without bringing Uncle John's 8-string, a music stand and a book of songs. On the other hand, it also meant I didn't have to miss any performances at the festival!
Among the performers were Faith Ako and Kumu Shawna Ngum Alapa`i. Ms. Ako sang for hula presented by Kumu Shawna's halau, Na Pua o ka La`akea. Ms. Ako and her band also had a segment during the festival, during which Kumu Shawna danced "E Waianae," which was composed by the hula instructor's brother, Randy Ngum.
The Aloha Festival is more than a song and dance show. Organized by the Pacific Islanders Cultural Association 15 years ago when the recreated Polynesian ocean-voyaging canoe came through the Golden Gate from Hawai`i, this festival educates the public about Polynesian culture and raises money for scholarships. Each student this year - and four received PICA scholarships - gets $1,000 annually for four years to spend as needed during his or her college career.
The festival has a keiki (children's) tent for fun and educational activities, workshops for adults (including ukulele and slack key guitar classes this year,) and informational booths.
Other booths, of course, give attendees plenty of opportunities to shop - and eat! It wouldn't be a Hawaiian festival without food!
Everyone loves when the hula dancers take the stage - or stages, since there are two of them at the festival. Dressed in lovely red and tan dresses, these dancers of Kumu Blaine Kia's combined halau beautifully illustrate the hallmark synchronized motions of the dance. From the earliest writings by Westerners of hula, observers were fascinated that so many dancers would move in perfect unity.
Frequently the final performer at the Aloha Festival is Kumu Mark Keali`i Ho`omalu's Academy of Hawaiian Arts. Kumu Mark has been called the chanter of his generation, and is known throughout the hula world for his pounding drumbeats and controversial, distinctive chanting style.
He's known in mainstream entertainment fans for his composition, "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" and for chanting the medley called "He Mele No Lilo" for the Walt Disney animated movie, "Lilo and Stitch."
His halau's hula are marked by strong movements that reflect his firm style. Even the keiki (children) dance in precise, businesslike formation - these aren't adorable little kids who get distracted by the thousands in the audience, or watch each other to remember what motion comes next. The tiniest of Kumu Mark's dancers need no motherly "aunty" to help place them on stage. These are dancers performing far beyond their years.
Most Hawaiian events conclude with everyone standing, holding hands and singing "Hawai`i Aloha," and this festival was no exception. The crowd then drifts through the vendors' booths for those last purchases or to buy some take-home food.
But that's not the last gasp for me. Since my first Aloha Festival, I've volunteered for after-show cleanup. They call us "Pau Hana Volunteers" [pau hana means after work or after activity], and we are particularly loved. Up till then, the rest of PICA and other volunteers have worked hard to pull off this two-day celebration. And they're exhausted. The Pau Hana crew is the second wind of volunteerism.
With the help of the 60,000 to 70,000 attendees, who do a pretty good job of picking up after themselves, and the Conservation Corps, we sweep through, lugging black plastic bags we fill with whatever litter that got left behind or blew under shrubbery or fell out of overflowing rubbish bins. We separate the recyclables. And we do such a good job that the folks in charge of the parade grounds say you'd never know that anyone had been there.
But we were there. We sang along with the bands, and we cheered the dancers. Some of us also danced when we heard a song we knew - I danced "Waikiki" for one band, and when the musical duet Moana called up all hula dancers for "Ka Uluwehi o ke Kai," I got brought up on stage. We saw friends and shared a great time.
And, as I dropped off my last bag of trash and packed away my gloves, I smiled, knowing I'll never again attend a San Francisco Aloha Festival and not know anyone there except someone who happened to have flown across the country to help a friend in a vending booth.
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