4th Annual Ho`olaule`a (Hawaiian Festival) June 22 & June 23

WHAT: 4th Annual Ho 'olaule 'a

Presented by Kaha I Ka Panoa Kaleponi Hawaiian Civic Club June 22 & 23, 2013.
The festival will include; Island foods, traditional arts and craft booths, continuous live entertainment, Pacific Island village demonstrations by artisans from the islands of Hawaii, Samoa, Guam, marshall Islands, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Tonga, Tahiti and Fiji.

WHEN: Saturday June 22(10AM to 6PM) & Sunday June 23 (11AM to 5PM)

WHERE: Sports Park in the City Of Beaumont (Recently changed from Noble Creek Park)

COST: Free!!!! ($5 parking)

http://alohaworld.com/events/event/223-4th-annual-inland-empire-hoolaulea

Here are photos from last year's event. I wanted to post them after the event last year but my daughter borrowed my camera to see some non-tiki band called Mayday Parade and somehow the memory disk with the pictures vanished until recently.

The date of the event was the same as Tiki Oasis. Ouch! The only reason I was going was to support my daughter's hula group who was performing for only the umpteenth time. At first I thought it was going to be at the big Hawaiian Festival in Long Beach which was the same date. My wife could not remember the name of the city but knew it started with the letter "B". I knew the Long Beach Festival was held in the part of the city known as Belmont Shores. When I told her Belmont Shore she responded that it sounded right.

A few days before the event I was informed that it was not Belmont Shore, but rather Beaumont California in the Inland Empire. What!!!!

The thought of going to Beaumont in August with triple digit temperatures was not my idea of fun. With Long Beach at least I would have an ocean breeze and girls in bikini's walking by.
Beaumont, what did I do to deserve this?

I think I accidentally on purpose forgot to pack the beach chairs and umbrellas as an excuse to leave right after my daughter's performance.

11:00 AM
We arrive with the sun pounding strong.
Hey, what is that big tent?

Of course they would have to provide an ample amount of covered seating. So much for my early exit strategy.

I hope I don't have to see a bunch of little kids again who's parents think it cute to watch them NOT dance Hula.

Ugh!!! Here we go again.

11:45 AM
OK, let me go see if I can find a tropical drink and at least pretend I am at Oasis.

I think that must be the bar right next to the stage.

Cool the line looks short.

What the f#@k? This not a tiki bar, its a Beaumont police sub-station. The officers kindly informed me that this is a family friendly DRY event (& that they will be keeping a close eye on me.)

Beaumont, what did I do to deserve this Hell? I wish I was in Hell; at least it would be a few degrees cooler.

Maybe they have some cool tiki vendors that didn't make it to Oasis.

Of course not. I don't see any tikis. All I see is stuff for hula outfits.

12:30 PM
I better get back, I think my daughter's group is performing. Wife will be mad if I miss it and not take pictures.
Yes, it is them.

Here's my daughter Sara.

1:15 PM
Hurry up and change so we can get out of this hell hole.
I think the blue-haired ladies from the retirement village are dancing next.

Hey wait a minute, this guy is announcing a live singing act. This is different.

These guys are not too bad. They are called Pumana.
http://pumana.com/Listen.html

1:45 PM
What?? I don't believe it. The announcer is saying the Kalama Brothers are next. I love these guys. I saw them at the inaugural International Tiki Market Place at Don the Beachcomber

OK, I'm ready. Let's go home.

Are you kidding, the Kalama Brothers are here. We are not going anywhere just yet.

They are mixing the hula performers with the singing acts. This is great.
This is how is should be done.

OK dad they are done. Let's go.

Wait, your mother & I want to say hi to the boys.

3:15 PM
Can we go home now?

No, the Kalama Brothers told us the next performers were not to be missed.

My daughter's best friend was overcome with excitement upon hearing the good news.

OK, I better spoil the troops with Hawaiian shaved ice to cool down the situation.

The group is called Tioata.

The savage performer got too close to the audience which made the strong police presence take action and grab their weapon.

I mean a couple of bucks to tip.

5:00 PM
Hey it's 5:00; Can we finally go?

I don't believe it Auntie Geri and Mehana are the headlining performers to close out Saturday. Another favorite act I've seen at Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach.

Get comfortable, this is going to be good.

7:00 PM. The last to leave.
Not a bad day. I even won a t-shirt from the raffle!!!

This was definitely the most enjoyable hula event I had to attend with my daughter's group.

It's not about Tiki, it's not about tropical drinks.

It is about a celebration of South Pacific culture and pride from people who love their heritage.

Kudos to the city of Beaumont and the Pacific American Community Cultural Center for hosting such a quality event.

I expect this year's event to be just as entertaining.

Stopped by for a part of the Hawaiian festival last weekend. The weather was perfect in the mid 80's. (Thank God it was not this weekend. I see that it was 105 degrees in Beaumont yesterday.)

Did not really see as much of the nice mix of singing acts intertwined with Hula performers as there was the previous year. To be fair I did miss many of the performances.

Here are a couple of videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwD_x6Te7-w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hea2URMGSHY

[ Edited by: Rum Dog 2013-07-07 22:04 ]