If you happen to be spending your time in paradise during the Memorial Day weekend and are looking for something a bit more culturally enriching than taking a nap under Hawaii’s cobalt blue skies you may want to check out these colorful events:
POW-WOW!!
If you are looking for cultural entertainment that will entrance your entire family, consider heading over to the city of Hilo this holiday weekend. The sleepy little town on the eastern side of the Big Island of Hawaii is hosting the second annual Inter-Tribal PowWow. The event will take place May 26-28 at Wailoa River Park located about 2 miles from the heart of downtown Hilo.
The PowWow kicks off with a traditional Northwest Coast canoe ceremony followed by a performance by the Eagle Song Dancers from Squamish Nation, Vancouver, Canada. The group will sail up the Wailoa River on a double-hull canoe and exchange songs and chants with a Hawaiian delegation as the Squamish ask for permission to come ashore and dance upon Hawaiian land. On Sunday, 68 Saginaw Chippewa elders visiting from Michigan will join the festivities.
In addition to the dance performances there will be storytelling, food booths, craft activities, and a silent auction. The best part: the entire event is free.
LANTERN FESTIVAL
If you want to participate in a truly moving event, which honors loved ones that have died trying to bring peace to the world, you don’t want to miss the Ninth Annual Lantern Floating Hawaii ceremony, which takes place Memorial Day at Oahu’s Ala Moana Beach Park.
The event not only memorializes the deceased it also offers prayers for peace and a chance to share memories of your loved ones with others. Even if you don’t have a loved one to honor, I would suggest making the trip to take in the festivities. Watching thousands of candle-lit paper lanterns floating in the Pacific at dusk is an incredible sight that will stay with you for a long time.
The tradition of floating lanterns, or Toro Nagashi, originated in Japan to honor ancestors and comfort the spirits of the deceased. Event organizers say for the event near dowtown Honolulu, more than 2,000 lanterns will be set afloat to transport spirits “from the shore of delusion to the shore of salvation. Prayers of consolation will be offered to the spirits of those who have lost their lives in war. The ceremony takes place on Memorial Day to coincide with the American custom of remembering victims of war and to honor those men and women who continue to sacrifice their lives today in order to protect our freedoms.
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