2017 Northwest Folklife Festival

Kalei teaches hula to a room full of participants of all ages at the Seattle Center Armory Room

Our first-ever Northwest Folklife Festival appearance! Huraiti Mana held a 45-minute hula cultural workshop, sharing stories, laughing, and working hard together as we discussed briefly about my experiences teaching dance and about the history of Native-Hawaiian traditions, while, of course, dancing hula. It was a hot, sunny day in Seattle, and we were feeling it as we moved through proper form and stance, exercised basic hula step, and touched on contemporary choreography. Following our dance workshop, we moved into the kid's Discovery Zone and hosted lei-making with fresh orchids. Keiki, or children, asked about the ancient traditions behind lei-making while their parents flipped through books about various master lei-making styles and techniques. We had such great conversations and met a lot of folks that day. Mahalo nui loa to everyone who joined us, and we hope you enjoyed yourselves!