Cultural Festival July 14 at Hawaii Volcanoes

A host of traditional Hawaiian activities is again slated for the popular Annual Cultural Festival to be held July 14 at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Up to 5,000 visitors are expected at the festival, which has been held annually for 32 years. The one-day event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Park entrance fees will be waived for the day.

The festival celebrates kula kahiko, the ancient form of the dance, as well as traditional arts and crafts and contemporary Hawaiian music.

It will be centered at the parks Kahua Hula, or traditional hula platform, at Ka‘auea near the Volcano Art Center.

The theme for this year’s festival is ‘A‘ohe pau ka ‘ike i ka hālau ho‘okahi, “Not all knowledge is learned in one school.” Kumu hula and members of several hālau will share their knowledge of the dance and its chants, costumes, implements and adornments.

“We invite everyone to celebrate what truly makes Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park so special: the ever-present spirit of aloha of the Hawaiian people and culture so deeply connected to this sacred land of powerful geology and diverse and unique ecology,” Park Ranger Joni Mae Makuakāne-Jarrell said in a statement.

For information visit www.nps.gov/havo or call 985-6011.