Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana has commissioned Patricia Guerrero, internationally acclaimed flamenco dancer-choreographer and winner of the 2021 Spain National Dance Award, to create QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), a new evening-length work set to an original score of live music by Francis Gomez. Flamenco Vivo will develop this major new work by Guerrero, an innovative talent hailed as a flamenco artist “of supernatural force, with an incredible interpretive capacity” (DeFlamenco), and present it to US audiences next season.

Striking Light Striking Dark Duo formed in 2014, with the release of a CD of the same name. This CD featured selected poetry sung from the works of Rainer Maria Rilke (Germany), Pablo Neruda (Chile), John Logan, Sam Hamill (American) and the ancient Japanese Zen-inspired text, Kyotaku Denki, set to original compositions by Sasha Bogdanowitsch (voice and various world instruments) and Christopher Yohmei Blasdel (Shakuhachi).

There is no architect in this world whose life story and work are so out of the norm and so exceptional as the 1995 Pritzker Prize winner Mr. Tadao Ando. Born in 1941 and raised by his great grandmother, he became a certified boxer at age 17. On a trip to Tokyo in junior high, he was struck by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel and found his calling. While boxing professionally, he attended evening drawing classes, took interior design correspondence courses, and studied masters of modernist architecture on his own. From 1992 and on, Benesse Corporation president, Mr. Soichiro Fukutake, commissioned Ando to design art museums on the islands of Seto Inland Sea, in an effort to revive the diminishing population and worsening environment caused by the dumping of industrial wastes by major companies. Their visionary collaboration created Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, a hotel annex, and Chichu Art Museum complex, with the latter dedicated to works of Claude Monet and two contemporary artists. Starting in 2010, with Kagawa government’s partnership, Mr. Fukutake launched the first Setouchi Art Triennial. By this time, the once devasted islands had become an art destination attracting millions of domestic as well as foreign tourists.

The short films will help us appreciate the self-taught architect who continues to design museums in the Seto Inland Sea even after having five internal organs removed in 2009 and 2014 due to pancreatic cancer.

His works can are concentrated in Osaka area but are also found in S. Korea, Taiwan, US, Canada, France, Germany, China, Switzerland, Itay, and Australia.

As part of the 2025 Chinese New Year celebration sponsored by the City and County, DAC will commemorate the Year of the Snake and the 125th anniversary of the Great Chinatown Fire of 1900 with a special event in Chinatown Gateway Plaza's Studio 1C Gallery, January 24 from 5:30 - 8 p.m. The celebration, featuring lion dancers, firecrackers, live music by Men in Grey Suits, and other festivities, will reflect on the history of Chinatown, from the ashes of the fire to the vibrant community we have today, as well as our hopes for the future.

The 2025 Lunar New Year parade starts at the Hawaii State Capitol lawn. Participants march along Hotel Street through Downtown to Chinatown and are brought to the Chinatown Festival, formally known as Night in Chinatown. The festival will be on Beretania Street and flow into the historical ‘A'ala Park.

A family-friendly festival in Honolulu's Historic Chinatown to welcome the 2025 Lunar New Year on Saturday January 25, 2025. Lunar New Year falls on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, starting the year of the Snake. The festivities include Food Vendors, Craft Vendors, Free Keiki Bouncy Houses, Rest Tent, 3 Entertainment Stages, Bicycle Valet, and a Parade.

Presented by Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii

Kuana Torres Kahele Band presents Christmas in Tahiti, with very special guest dancers, Theresa and Iokia Ramento!

What better way to celebrate the Holidays than by combining a timeless Nutcracker with the grandeur and elegance of the Hawaiian monarchy?

Celebrate the Holidays with Ballet Hawaii’s lavish Hawaiian-themed Nutcracker presented in the 1858 Kingdom of Hawaii. The production is choreographed by Septime Webre with guest artists from New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carolina Ballet, and Eugene Ballet and accompanied by members of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.

What better way to celebrate the Holidays than by combining a timeless Nutcracker with the grandeur and elegance of the Hawaiian monarchy?

Celebrate the Holidays with Ballet Hawaii’s lavish Hawaiian-themed Nutcracker presented in the 1858 Kingdom of Hawaii. The production is choreographed by Septime Webre with guest artists from New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carolina Ballet, and Eugene Ballet and accompanied by members of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.

A colorful procession of Hawaiian culture through Waikīkī

Intricate floats decorated with a rainbow of fresh flowers and men and women on horseback showcasing the traditional art of pāʻū riding. Participants from marching bands to hālau hula to civic leaders display the unique aloha spirit that unites Hawai‘i’s community.

Get ready for a beachfront street festival like no other!

Kalākaua Avenue will be transformed with booths showcasing Hawai‘i cuisine, crafts and culture stretching as far as the eye can see. Taste the best of local flavors from around the island in one place, and peruse artisan-made crafts. Multiple stages with incredible entertainment will rock the evening featuring top local artists, award-winning hālau hula, and more.

Crowds dressed in kimono, hapi coats and eisaa outfits gather at the Hawaii Okinawa Center. Young and old, newbies and pros, dance to the beat of taiko, sway to the sounds of sanshin and cheer, “iya sassa-ha iyaa!” into the night. Traditional Okinawan numbers are combined with time honored and contemporary Japanese favorites for an evening of culture, food and fellowship.

Along with great music and dancing, matsuri goers can enjoy onolicious andagi and other local favorites. Each year, the Matsuri is coordinated by the efforts of many volunteers. Ippee nifee deebiru, mahalo and thank you to their hard work and support!

Songs of Love from Hawaiʻi combines musical performances from world-renowned artists with simple but visually striking animation to share personal stories of sacrifice, courage and love.

The film uses an innovative storytelling technique to document the journeys of Korean immigrants who arrived in Hawaiʻi starting in 1903.

Following the screening, join us for a conversation with:

• Jinyoung Lee,  Director & Executive Producer

• Keola Beamer, Slack-Key Guitarist

• Chee-Yun, Violinist 
  

Click the RSVP button to register now! Registration closes on Friday, September 13, 2024 at 5:00 pm. Once registered, a link will be emailed to you a few days before the screening.

Sichuan Song and Dance Group, known for their spectacular presentation of the folk art and culture in Sichuan

The performance, which included singing and dancing, opera and acrobatics, reflects the multi-ethnic cultures of Tibet, Qiang, Yi and Han, as well as the historical connotation of Sichuan.

The Royal Court Investiture and Opening Ceremony will kick off the month-long Aloha Festivals celebration with its treasured cultural protocols. The evening will begin with The Royal Court Investiture. In a stately ceremony that honors Hawaiʻi’s aliʻi (ruling chiefs), this year’s Aloha Festivals Royal Court will don regalia worn only by aliʻi of the highest rank. As representatives of Hawaiʻi’s past, the Aloha Festivals Royal Court ensures the festival is rooted in the most cherished traditions of Hawaiʻi. Following the Investiture, the Opening Ceremony will feature hula and musical performances for a special evening in the heart of Waikīkī.

Malio is a mythical woman renowned for entertaining with music and for her ability in love magic. Like her, these wahine hold a special place in mele Hawaii. Each plays an instrument, complimenting the ono of their leo. Whether it’s the ukulele, steel guitar, bass, or guitar, they weave the tapestry of the mele with the chords of their instrument. They sing, breathing life into the mele, keeping the haku mele’s moolelo alive in the hearts of the listeners. This event is designed to bring the extraordinary wahine music makers together on one stage and showcase how we preserve, promote, and perpetuate mele Hawaii through the generations and around the world!

The exhibitions Forward Together and Fashioning Aloha share a common thread in how artists and designers use their practices to explore cultural identities and histories as a form of activism. Kūha‘o Zane, Creative Director of Sig Zane Designs and SZKaiao, and Cedric Hudson, Vice President of Men’s Design at Fabletics and Owner of his own brand, Contemporary Athletics, discuss how they use their platforms to effect social change. Both creatives see themselves as cultural storytellers, serving their communities by leveraging the commercial sector to foster meaningful change. 

The festival will feature Keiki NextGen steel guitar players and musicians age 11 and older from Alan Akaka's Ke Kula Mele Hawai‘i School of Hawaiian Music, singing and playing Hawai‘i's favorite Hawaiian music.

Free to the public. Presented by Hawaii Institute for Music Enrichment and Learning Experiences (HIMELE) and the Kahala Mall. NextGen steel guitarists received support from Breezy Ridge® Instruments, Ltd., the home of John Pearse® Strings.

Since 1940, the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation’s Nā Hula Festival has celebrated the artistry and grace of Hawai‘i’s premiere dance form - hula.  The festival is Hawai‘i’s longest-running, annual, non-competitive hula event.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity for a personal exploration into hula with themes covering the legacy, lineages and the caretakers of hula.