Merrie Monarch Craft Fair Lives Online

The Merrie Monarch Festival is known not just for the celebration of hula, but the local artists who share Hawaiian culture through the clothes they make, the woods they carve and the jewelry they create.

Since the annual event is not open to the public due to COVID-19 restrictions, The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) is sponsoring the marketing and operational costs of the Pop-Up Makeke, which is organized by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

It will feature many of the crafters and artisans who would normally sell their art in person during the Merrie Monarch Festival.

HTA helped to launch the first online Pop-Up Makeke last year. The online marketplace was established during the pandemic to support Hawai‘i’s small business owners, particularly the Native Hawaiian-owned businesses, that depend heavily on community events, gatherings, craft fairs, and farmer’s markets.

The live Pop-Up Makeke shows will air on KFVE and Hawai‘i News Now’s Facebook page starting at 5 p.m. HST nightly before the hula competition starts. Visit www.popupmakeke.com for more information.

HTA is proud to support the broadcast of the 58th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival and Season 3 of the Pop-Up Makeke that will air during the festival. This is the 11th year that HTA has been a sponsor of the Merrie Monarch Festival. Hawaiian culture is one of HTA’s four pillars in its 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, which is also translated into Olelo Hawai‘i.

Due to restrictions because of COVID-19, this year’s Merrie Monarch Festival is not a public, in-person event. It will be aired on KFVE starting tonight and ending on Saturday, July 3. It will also be streamed worldwide from www.hawaiinewsnow.com beginning each night at 6 p.m. HST.

In addition, HTA is funding the digitization of past Merrie Monarch Festivals. The work is ongoing and expected to be completed by June 2022.