Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 7, 1 July 2011 — Tourism and culture are strange bedfellows no longer [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Tourism and culture are strange bedfellows no longer

By Lynn Cook ASaturday evening breeze rustles the palms at Helumoa. The torches llicker. A hundred, maybe two hundred, gather - visitors and locals - from California and Japan, Germany and Waimānalo, all watching the dancers of Hālau Mōhala 'Ilima present their homage to the ali'i. Kumu Māpuana de Silva explains the story the dancers tell. For 30 minutes the audience sits with unwavering attention. As it was for centuries, hula kahiko is onee again danced in the heart of WaikM. The challenge is to continue to change and enrich the model of Hawai'i's travel experience, according to Peter Apo. "We want to be sure that we do not separate the visitor from the visited," he says. "When you go to Italy, you see Italians," Apo says, "but here in Hawai'i, where were the Hawaiians? In earlier times there was a wall of commerce between the authentic Hawaiian experience and the marketing of the Islands," noting that in recent years Hawai'i has made great strides in cultural connectivity. Apo has the expertise to give a balanced opinion on the heahh of cultural tourism. As a consultant, he works with every segment of the travel industry. As a Hawaiian musician, he knows the eeonomie challenge faced by both the musicians and those who hire them. He was away from the

Islands from 1957 to 1975. He says he left "pretravel desk" and returned to a model of tourism that was struggling to find itself. At one time Apo describes planned funding or actually having a budget for culture as being like a potted plant, "just move it around to look good." Now he sees hotels, airlines and eompanies across the state putting the support and presentation of Hawaiian culture at the top of the budget list. "It is a line item that they take seriously," says Apo, who is also an OHA Trustee. Where ean one find these examples of tourism embracing culture, and culture embracing tourism? Here are some suggestions. One of the most important sets of facts to remember is that Hawai'i is the only U.S. state with its own music, its own dance and its own language - and the last fact is shared with everyone who drives or walks. Simply read the Hawai-ian-named street signs, complete with diacritical marks. News is reported in print and broadcast in Hawaiian, as is the Hawaiian word of the day. The Territorial Airwaves radio show is streamed live around the world, seven days a week, sharing the history of Hawaiian music. Crossing the oeean from the continent, passengers on Hawaiian Airlines, both visitors and locals, are treated to Naalehu Anthony's story in film of Papa Mau: Tlie Wayfinder, telling the story of three decades of deep-ocean navigation

in double-hulled voyaging canoes. Waiklkī, the playground of Hawaiians since 1450 A.D., celebrates itself. The Royal Hawaiian Center presents hula kahiko every Saturday at Helumoa. Sunset on the Beach - with films, loeal food vendors and great entertainment - makes contact with the folks in the 35,000 hotel rooms only a block or two away. Hotels offer authentic experiences and environments easily accessible to the visitor and to the loeal residents. Outrigger WaikM's lobby holds a restored koa outrigger eanoe, backed by the Herb Kane mural that tells the story of ancient voyagers arriving from distant islands, creating a cultural piko for free cultural activities. The entrance to the Outrigger Reef was designed as a eanoe hale, welcoming guests to an open museum filled with the photos and artifacts of Friends of Hōkūle'a and Hawai'iloa. Up the curving stairs at the Moana Hotel, a tiny, free museum holds the story of WaMkl when only the ali'i played there. At the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Patricia Lei Anderson Murray teaches Hawaiian quilting. The Sheraton WaikM Hotel lobby and public areas are filled with the art of Native Hawaiian artists. The paintings were commissioned by Starwood Corp. and created on location. Eaeh painting has a story, everyone is invited to walk the art walk to feel the ancient energy that inspired those artists. As the paintings were nearing completion, artist A1 Lagunero answered the question, "When was the last time you were in Waikīkī?" He said, "We Hawaiians have always been here." At Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai'i at Ward Warehouse, everyone is invited to take hula, learn the Hawaiian language and run their fingers through a basket of Ni'ihau sand and shells as they learn the beauty of the shells' story. On 0'ahu's North Shore, Waimea Valley is a plaee to connect or reconnect. The l,800-acre valley is a living pu'uhonua, a plaee of peaee and safety, for Hawai'i and the world. A quiet talk with one of the kūpuna of the valley, followed by a quiet walk back through history offers a eonnection to Hawaiian spirituality. The 4,000 acres of Kualoa Valley includes the 800-year-old Mōli'i fishpond, one of the most well-preserved fishponds in Hawai'i. Kualoa President John Morgan will suggest a day of Hawaiian games or possibly a day earning sweatequity by working a taro patch or pulling up invasive seaweeds from the fishpond. VISITING THE NEIGHBORS Eaeh island has events, places and experiences that are "only in Hawai'i." To appreciate the weahh spread across the Islands, make a basket list of personal promises. See and do things all new or repeat the adventures of small-kid days. See Clifford Na'eole at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua on Maui for the details of the upcoming

GULTURE

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Hālau Mohala 'llima will perform eaeh Saturday in August in Royal Hawaiian Center's Hula Kahiko at Helumoa series designed as a tribute to the 'āina itself and the heritage of Helumoa. Here, dancers honor Kunuiakea, a relative of Pauahilaninui whose Helumoa lands eonhnue to generate revenue for Kamehameha Schools. - Courtesy photo byKīhei de Silva

20th anniversary of the Celebration of the Arts. Catch a performanee of the long-running 'UIalena production in Lahaina. Visit the Volcano Art Center on Hawai'i Island. Walk a petroglyph field and wonder at the artists who carved the image of voyaging canoes, stone on stone, a thousand years ago. Wander along the ancient fishponds and talk story with Danny Akaka at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. On the island of Kaua'i, eheek in with Stella Burgess at the Grand Hyatt Kaua'i Resort and Spa for legend and lore of the island. Find storytellers on Moloka'i that ean walk a valley without leaving a footprint. Settle in at the Lāna'i Arts Center and paint the pristine beauty of that island. Trustee Apo suggests that everyone has a stake in the development and growth of cultural tourism. His own efforts led him to head up the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association and to concept its Hana Pono Best Practices book, to be published in fall 2011. Apo was a key member of the panels of volunteers who judged the annual Keep It Hawai'i Awards presented by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. More and more Hawaiians are becoming part of the growth model and culture is a major part of the equation. "Of course," says Apo, "we have to be aware of and address the issue of capacity while growing our market share. The good thing is that Hawai'i's cultural practitioners have a strong voice in that planning." ■ Lynn Cook is a loeal freelance journalist sharing the arts anel culture ofHawai'i with a gIobaI auāienee.

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Led by Clifford Naeole, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua's Celebration of the Arts, an interactive arts and cultural festival, will mark 20 years next year. - Photo: Courtesy of tynn Cook