I’ve just returned from Hilo, Hawai’i where I was humbled to attend Merrie Monarch, the most prestigious hula competition in the world, accompanied by a week long celebration of Hawaiian culture, arts and language.
Merrie Monarch was named after King Kalākaua, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawai’i before it was illegally annexed by the United States in 1898 and named the 50th state. King Kalākaua was known as the “Merrie Monarch” for his jovial nature, love of mele (song/ chant,) ukelele playing and hula, which Christian missionaries tried to ban in Hawai’i in the 1830s.
Attending the Merrie Monach competition is no easy task—tickets are coveted and one has to apply old school, via mail, to be accepted for consideration. Luckily, my friend Devin Kamealoha Forrest, an attorney for Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, with multiple academic degrees in Hawaiian Language, Literature and Culture, is also a kumu hula (hula teacher) and invited me as his guest.
Like many of you, I’ve been down bad about the state of America, with fascism on the rise and whatnot. I have been praying for a sign, seeking a spark of inspiration to ground me in continued expression, resistance, rebellion.
With this intent in mind I flew to Hilo on Earth Day, April 22 in my Rocket Ahuna cargo pants with endemic Hawaiian plant camouflage and a vintage Jeremy Scott Los Angeles Raiders t shirt. The trip started with a significant greeting apropos of Earth Day—Kīlauea volcano erupting in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, the home of Pele, Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes. Pele, a fiery diety with little patience for stupidity (aka the United States administration,) was spewing lava 600 feet up in the air. My friend Hayley picked me up from the airport and we went straight up volcano to pay our respects to her.
Hayley has the best eye (I’ve shared about her taste level, and store, Nohona Kaua’i here before), making her the perfect guide for the opening of the craft fair which started the following day.
The whole of Hilo town was dotted with pop up fairs featuring artisans — textiles, jewelry, weaving, lei, wood carving, hats, beauty products, food— some of it the height of Hawaiian couture. We started at the civic center and competition was fierce. I lost out on two Pāpale Lauhala (woven hats using lauhala leaves) but managed to snag a seven strand braided tí leaf lei which I ended up wearing every day as my only accessory. It was overwhelming, with people lined up in front of certain aunty and uncle’s booths, knowing they were saving their best wares all year for the event. I’m usually the most focused shopper but this time I was just along for the ride.
Below, a golden cape and matching headpiece by artisan Rick San Nicholas. Constructed by hand using precious feathers from endemic birds of Hawai‘i, this piece took 1200 hours to complete and will go for over $100,000.
Every few minutes I ran into someone I knew. My friend Enoka Phillips, a Hawaiian featherwork artist who opened a gallery show in Honolulu a couple weeks ago, showed me his scores and told me I better go quick to check out the back booths.
While waiting in line for a coveted booth of woven bags, I spotted a set up of Lāʻau Lapaʻau practitioners (traditional Hawaiian medicinal arts using plants and lomi lomi massage) giving adjustments and displaying commonly used ingredients like mamaki and noni.
I debated getting a quick back massage but got distracted by wood carvings from Scott Hare, renowned in Hawaii for his 3 dimensional carved vessels. Scott’s pieces recognize endemic endangered and extinct Hawaiian species. He’s also a World Guinness record holder for the largest vessel carved which is 11 feet across. Below, an exquisite carved anthurium piece he made.
Six hours and several craft fairs later plus a visit to our friend Rocket Ahuna’s pop up at Hilo Palace Theater, I was ready for a little siesta. But rest is not on the agenda during Merrie Monarch week. I quickly unpacked my haul, including a Reeves Venery Pheasant humu papale (feather hat band,) several books on Hawaiian medicinal plants and a few pieces from Rocket’s S/S 2025 collection.
After a quick outfit change, it was time to get to the Stadium for Hōʻike — the grand opening exhibition night of hula and dance from around the Pacific. I hopped in the car with another friend,
(who writes a great Substack,) and booked it down to join the masses. Thousands of people were already packed into the arena and as we waited in line, we could hear the opening blessing.Finally, we were ushered in and unexpectedly led with a throng to seats on the floor about 10 rows from the stage, just in time to witness the surprise appearance of the newly appointed Māori Queen, Te Arikinui Kuīni Nga Wai Hono i te Pō. At 28 years old, she is the eighth Māori monarch and was made queen (the second ever) in August 2024, after the death of her father, King Tūheitia, amidst tensions between Māori and the New Zealand government. A symbol of a new generation of Māori, the crowd went wild when she took to the stage, accompanied by a procession performing a powerful haka. Everyone was on their feet screaming. Tears came to my eyes and when I looked around, everyone else seemed overcome with emotion, too. The few short clips I’ve seen online don’t do it justice but I will put one link below. After they finished a man turned to me, his jaw hanging open and merely said Whoa. If ever I’ve seen a living incarnate of Divine Feminine - not the kind blithely referred to by Katy Perry in her space/tour promo speak, but an *actual* living breathing regal leader full of supernatural mana, Te Arikinui Kuīni Nga Wai Hono i te Pō and her retinue was it.
We left buzzing and for the first night in a long time, I slept soundly, my faith in the universe eventually righting itself somehow restored. The next day (after even more shopping) was the Merrie Monarch opening event at 6 pm, where I joined Devin, his husband Greg, and designer David Shepard for the Miss Aloha Hula 2025 competition. Devin told me that protocol and judging was strict, with performances going into the wee hours, and winners often announced past 1 am. No videos or photos were allowed of the dancers (you can see images and video on Merrie Monarch’s website) because it was all being live streamed for audiences around the globe. The audience was dressed to the nines, decked out in lei, papale, haku (fern or flower crowns) and tons of pearls. The only photo I took was this one below. It was amazing to be in a communal space with no one on their phones, simply enthralled by the mele and hula. You’ll have to take my word for it or watch some of the performances at the link above.
I eventually floated onto a plane to depart Hilo, high on all I’d seen and done. I was about to close my eyes to catch up on sleep when guess who sat down in the row in front of me, accompanied by a small group of attendants? None other than QUEEN Te Arikinui Kuīni Nga Wai Hono i te Pō! I couldn’t believe my luck, not only was my plane surely not going to crash but this had to be the sign I was looking for. As we soared over Big Island and I caught my last glimpse of Pele’s smoke rising from Kīlauea, I glanced over at the Queen, serene in her sunglasses looking out the window. Smiling to myself, I knew the proverbial “SHE” IS RISEN and there’s no looking back.
CHEE HOO baby!
xoxo Liz
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