Ryan Galiotto

On April 5, 2009 there will be a Hoohuihui Craft Fair Extravaganza at Hilo High School cafeteria, 556 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. There will be all kinds of craft makers who will join the Craft Fair to showcase their handmade crafts. You can also enjoy their Ono Food that is for sale.

There will also be a Merrie Monarch Festival during the Hoohuihui Craft Fair Extravaganza. Besides form the handmade craft from the Hoohuihui Craft Fair Extravaganza. There will also be art exhibits, demonstrations, performance and a parade that emphasize the Hawaiian culture. This will be a good opportunity for you to start your business network, with all the customers around.

Forty-six years ago the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce had started this festival. The festival was then handled by the private Merrie Monarch Festival Community after a few years. Merrie Monarch Festival is a non-profit organization that is still registered under the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

This non-profit organization had a purpose to perpetuate, preserve and promote the art of hula and the Hawaiian culture by educating the local and visitors of Hawaii. This organization gave a venue for the people and the community as a whole to show and learn their traditional and modern art of hula.

Merrie Monarch Festival educated the local residence about their history and heritage; they were even given the chance to incorporate their modern art with the traditional art. When the residences were educated they were able to appreciate more unique harmony and balance that their ancestors have maintained with their island environment. For us visitor we got the chance to learn and see the rich culture that Hawaiian culture offered. It was a culture that we have been fascinated with.