Press Kit

PELE’S ARTISTIC DOMAIN

Hawai`i’s fiery deity fans the flame of art and culture on Hawai`i’s Big Island

Hawai`i’s Big Island – Under the influence Hawai`i’s volcano goddess Pele, Hawai`i Island’s art and culture scene is vibrant and powerful. From her home near Kīlauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, Pele provides the foundation for the trees that wood carvers and canoe makers shape, she gives inspiration to the island’s many art communities, and she invokes cultural reverence via hula and music from some of Hawai`i’s greatest performers.

These creative forces converge at Pele’s doorstep with year-round showcases of Hawaiian history, art, culture and workshops at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and its non-profit educational partner, Volcano Art Center. Pele will be guest of honor January 27, the first date in the award-winning series Nā Mea Hawai`i Hula Kahiko at the national park, where traditional hula and chant are performed in the midst of Kīlauea volcano. Hawaiian craft demonstrations will take place throughout the day at Volcano Art Center Gallery as part of the event, which has repeat performances set for March, May, June and August. The Hawai`i Volcanoes Cultural Festival held at the national park in July is a hands-on opportunity to learn Hawaiian crafts, play music and games and indulge in traditional foods like kalua pig, taro and breadfruit. The park and the art center also channel Pele’s energy throughout the year with numerous other Hawaiian culture-centered programs, including Elderhostel educational seminars.

“There is certainly a long history of artwork inspired by place and the spectacle of the volcanoes and Pele has been drawing artists here for ages,” Volcano Art Center executive director Marilyn Nicholoson said. “People still come here to learn from her and continue to be inspired by this awesome environment that she calls home.”

While Pele’s living lava stretches from Kīlauea to the Ka`ū coast, her influence extends to the island’s diverse museums, concerts, festivals, exhibitions and competitions. Opening February 1, the Kona Historical Society’s newly renovated H.N. Greenwell Store Museum at Kalukalu creates a living history experience of what life in Kona mauka (upper Kona) was like in the 1890s, when ranching dominated. Festivals like the Establishment Day Hawaiian Festival at Pu`ukohola Heiau National Historical site on the Kohala Coast in August and the Queen Lili`uokalani Festival in downtown Hilo in September, pay homage to the days of Hawai`i’s monarchy with royal processions and cultural demonstrations. For a closer look at Hawaiian crafts, there is the popular three-week Hawai`i Wood Guild Show at Sudha’s Gallery in Hilo throughout February and the Big Island Woodturners Show at the Wailoa Center in March, highlighting how local woodworkers use native woods enriched by Pele’s rich, volcanic soil to create exquisite pieces of art, furniture and musical instruments. Plus you can see exquisite works of art year-round at any of Hawai`i Island’s art-inspired towns, including Hāwī, Hōlualoa, Volcano Village and downtown Hilo.

With such fine musical instruments made right here, it’s no wonder the Big Island is also the place to enjoy premiere Hawaiian music. Big Island-based Palm Records produced Slack Key Guitar Volume 2, a Grammy Award winner last year, while three Big Island musicians Led Ka`apana, Keoki Kahumoku and George Kahumoku, Jr. are nominated for this year’s Grammy in Hawaiian music. Island music is celebrated in events like the `Ukulele Festival in March at the Kings Shops at Waikoloa Beach Resort, the Big Island Music Festival held at the University of Hawai`i-Hilo Performing Arts Center in July and the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival in September at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa .

Where there is great music, there is great dancing. In April, Hawai`i’s preeminent hula celebration and competition, the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, brings a week’s worth of entertainment and competitions in kahiko (ancient) and `auana (modern) hula to the Big Island. In addition to Merrie Monarch, there’s also the George Na`ope Kane Hula Festival in March featuring a competition of male-only hula dancers; the second annual Moku o Keawe International Festival in November which draws hula halau (troops) from around the world; and the `Iolani Luahine Hula Festival and Hula Scholarship Competition, honoring Big Island cultural historian `Iolani Luahine with performance, talk story and films on the front lawn of the Kona Inn.

Many Big Island hotels and B&Bs offer an authentic cultural experience through activities like outrigger canoe paddling, ukulele lessons and more. Kona Village Resort takes it a step further, with luxurious thatched-roof hale (bungalows) for lodging, and a weekly Hawaiian feast, or `aha`aina, highly acclaimed for the authenticity of its Hawaiian entertainment and cuisine. The new Kalaekilohana B&B in Ka`ū enriches the guest experience through cultural workshops with native Hawaiian owner Kilohana Domingo, an award-winnig lei maker. Guests learn about traditional plants, how to make lei (and gather the materials), and how to weave lauhala, the leaves of the pandanus plant, into beautiful creations.

From the lava fields of Ka`ū, to the Kona Coast’s sun-soaked playgrounds, from historic Kohala to the lush landscape of Hilo, Hawai`i’s Big Island is Pele’s artistic and cultural domain all year long.

Media Contact:
Jessica Ferracane
President, Irondog Communications LLC
Representing the Big Island Visitors Bureau
P.O. Box 1093
Kurtistown, HI 96760
Cell: (808) 895-5740
Home office: (808) 968-0624
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