Cultural Weekend

ke ao lama = enlightened world

First Friday Art Walk – Capitol Modern

For our first First Friday (September 6), we chose a single event at the Capitol Modern, which is a small museum showcasing primarily local artists situated in a beautiful building in downtown Honolulu. They have a charming courtyard, complete with a pool decorated to look like real water. A couple of jazzy bands were on tap.

The galleries had interesting depictions of Pacific Islander artwork, but the highlight for us was catching a lecture on a recently revived form of basket weaving of ki’i, or images of Native Hawaiian Gods. The woven art pieces are made of ratan and ʻieʻie, an endemic woody vine found in Hawai’i.

Obon Festival – Aloha Stadium

That Saturday evening, we drove to the Aloha Stadium (where the Pro Bowl used to be held, for all you football fans out there) for one of the many Obon festivals held around the island this time of year. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist celebration of family and ancestors and one of the main activities at a festival is the Bon Dance. Musicians perform from a raised tower while dancers move in a circle around them. The movements seemed simple, and it was lovely to watch people of all ages joining in. However, Troy and I were particularly thrilled by the performance of Taiko drummers! This particular group were mostly women, and they were BOSS! Check them out:

Duke’s on Sunday, featuring Henry Kapono

On Sunday we embarked on a different kind of cultural adventure, taking in the iconic tunes of the one-and-only Henry Kapono, a local legend. He’s Waikiki’s version of Jimmy Buffett (who we understand was a fan). The mai tais flow at the Barefoot Bar behind Duke’s as a multi-generational crowd sloppily dances to his originals and covers of tropical tunes. Troy and I soaked up the chill (Troy even tried out a “man bun”), marveled at the sunset and then had dinner with the kids, wrapping up a wonderful weekend full of island culture!