It’s two minutes before 11PM. I should be sleeping by now but I couldn’t. I know that somehow I need to write that “Celebration Of The Arts” – Day 2″ post before it gets old. I wrote about the Day 1 here if you want to know more about it.
The morning of Day 2 for the Social Media group was actually spent at AgFest 2010 in Waikapu. Let’s save that story for another post. For now I would like to focus on the Celebration of the Arts Day 2. Many of the hands on activities that we had yesterday also were available today, plus a series of new workshops, demo and live entertainment. One special event on Day 2 was the Pai’na tonight.
What is Pai’na? According to Kumu Hula Hokulani Holt, a Pai’ina is an intimate gathering. It’s a celebration among small group of family and friends. It’s difference with Luau is in the size and intimacy. Luau is bigger and a more open celebration, Pai’na is smaller and more intimate.
The food at the Pai’na were prepared and cook by Hawaiian in a traditional way. Prior to the opening of the door for others, Kumu Hula Hokulani Holt gave us a tour in the buffet area and orientated us on the variety of Hawaiian food we were about to enjoy. It was truly a feast, from the appetizer like Aki Poke to the main entree like Lu’au He’e, and desserts such as fresh malasadas and haupia.
Various performances during the night were all fabulous, like the ancient men’s hula by Kumu Charles Kaupu & Na Pua O Oneloa and the contemporary hula by women and children of Halau Hila Na Pua O Pakipakipa. The night was topped off by the awesome performance of the cast of Ulalena. Ulalena is a beautiful portrayal of the Hawaiian history in vignettes of songs and dances. We were all blown away by the show. Ulalena received a standing ovation from all the Pai’na participants. Go to visitmauiblog flckr site to see some of the beautiful photos taken during the performance (thank you Peter for taking the shots and uploading them quickly).
This is the 18th year of Celebration of the Arts here at Ritz Carlton Kapalua. No wonder it’s going strong each year. This is my first year to attend the event, and after experiencing it this weekend, I know I would want to come back here again next year. I am sure you would be reading, watching and listening to more about this Celebration of the Arts event from others. My recommendation is to reserve early for next year. This year they were sold out 
To everyone involved in organizing and running this event, mahalo for a job well done!
Photo Credit: Kaiscapes
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For those who are interested, we have three videos of Hokulani walking us down the buffet line and explaining the food. You can find them here.
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