Get ready, world. The Merrie Monarch Festival returns next week with full regalia for the first time since 2019, and there’s just two days left until the celebration of hula and everything Hawaiian gets underway.

Tickets for the non-competitive hula exhibition scheduled for Wednesday night, April 12, will be available in person from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., or until they are sold out, at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium box office in Hilo.

Hōʻike night of the 60th annual festival that showcases Hawaiian culture and hula is April 12 at Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo.

The Merrie Monarch Festival will be back to its full glory in April 2023, celebrating its 60th anniversary of showcasing hula and Hawaiian culture — and the world can’t wait.

The Merrie Monarch hula competition kicked off Thursday night with Miss Aloha Hula at the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo.

Smiles. Laughter. Hugs. ‘Ohana. Aloha. Even a few tears — of joy. And that was all before walking in.

A limited live audience returned to the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium Wednesday for the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival’s Hōʻike night.

Periodic road closures for the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo are slated to start today at noon.

Big Island police are informing the public of a change in traffic pattern for a street in Hilo during the upcoming Merrie Monarch Festival.

An event in conjunction with the Merrie Monarch Festival that showcases and supports Hawai‘i artisans and creators while celebrating hula and Hawaiian culture returns this year and is welcoming everyone back in person.

With the return of the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, other events that coincide with the event throughout the community also are coming back, including at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel.

Merrie Monarch Festival moves forward with its regular presentation and 59th anniversary – after a cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and no live audience in 2021. Some live audience will be allowed this year and only a fraction of tickets were sold to the public.

A Honolulu news outlet reported shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, April 3, that a beloved kumu hula from the Big Island has died.

Merrie Monarch Festival’s Hōʻike Night is sold out.

The 2022 Merrie Monarch Festival is welcoming the public back this year for its Wednesday night Hōʻike — but not for free.

Organizers for the Merrie Monarch Festival announced tickets for the event’s Wednesday night Hōʻike go on sale on March 15.

Plans for the 2022 Merrie Monarch Festival continue to evolve and a live audience could be watching.

Plans are still moving forward for the Merrie Monarch Festival to return to its regular schedule this year. And the county is working with organizers and leadership of the prestigious hula competition to make sure it does.

Tonight will conclude the 58th annual Merrie Monarch Festival with its ʻauana competition.

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.