Lovely ladies wearing lei

Merrie Monarch Festival is almost here!

Hilo turns out for hula in a week! #MerrieMonarchDasWhy! And the Hilo Lei Day Festival crew will be joining the Merrie Monarch Parade on Saturday, April 27!

Our pāʻū unit will feature Pua Kiele and the Maile Sisters, and possibly a dancing pūpū kuahiwi!

Pua Kiele, the Hilo Lei Day Festival pāʻū horse, and rider, Aunty Leilehua.

The Maile Sisters, a set of kiʻi hula, also will join the Hilo Lei Day Festival unit.

Pua Kiele (Gardenia Blossom) was created in 2012 for a show at Hilo’s historic Palace Theater. The show helped to raise funds for the theater’s new stage. He was “ridden” by Leilehua Yuen in her depiction of Hilo Hattie’s performance of “The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai.”

The Maile Sisters were created in 2005 for a Wailoa Center art show to celebrate Lei Day. Since then, they have performed numerous times on Moku Hawaiʻi, and in Japan.