Kumu hula and UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi CC faculty member Taupori Tangaro and his 25 member hula halau, taking a break from rehearsal.
I had the pleasure of visiting with Taupori Tangaro and his hula hālau while at Hawaiʻi Community College for my campus visit. Hālau members were packing up and rehearsing for this summer’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival, where they will be among 90 delegates representing the University of Hawaiʻi on the National Mall.
UH will be one of only 20 public land grant universities featured during this year’s festival. It celebrates the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Morrill Act, which established our great public land grant university system, making college educations possible for working class Americans.
We are extremely proud to be part of this prestigious national event, where Tangaro’s hālau will perform twice daily and share their knowledge of Hawaiian culture with visitors from around the world. The hālau consists of UH staff, faculty members and students. They will join other UH representatives who will offer exhibits, demonstrations and discussions on everything from Hawaiian health and healing, agriculture, organic eating, non-instrument navigation, language preservation and much more. We are working very hard to represent the university well.
Our appearance at this summer’s Folklife Festival will further our effort to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture, language and practices and make UH the “model indigenous-serving university” in the country. The festival runs from June 27 through July 8. If you’re in the Washington D.C. area or on the east coast, please stop by and say hello.
