Vacation Hawaii and Attend the Merrie Monarch Festival

Spring is a great time to visit the Big Island of Hawaii, it is not only coming into bloom with all sorts of beautiful vegetation, but April is also the month that is set aside to celebrate Hawaiian traditions. During this month the people of the city of Hilo host many different activities, mostly centered around a celebration that they call the "Merrie Monarch Festival". Planning a vacation to include visiting the festival would surely be the highlight of the trip and being able to watch many of the best hula dancers in the world compete would be a sight to remember.

King David Kalakaua, who was nicknamed the Merrie Monarch for his flamboyant and fun-loving ways, was the inspiration behind the festival. During his reign in Hawaii as king, from 1874 to his death in 1891, he restored many of the cultural traditions of the Hawaiian people that had become nearly extinct. Since he especially enjoyed music and dance he brought back the hula which had been forbidden for over 70 years by the missionaries. The hula is how the culture, history, stories and almost every aspect of Hawaiian life is passed down through the generations, so it is no surprise that the island people celebrate in the name of the man that brought these back into their lives and kept the Hawaiian traditions living.

The Merrie Monarch Festival, is a non-profit organization that is set up to teach the Hawaiian culture through education and the art of hula. In hopes of enriching the lives of Hawaii's children and educating the public on Hawaiian traditions the festival is a host to many events such as an arts and crafts fair, demonstrations, exhibitions and hula performances. These hula performances are done by dancers that come from all over Hawaii and the US mainland to take part in the three day hula competition that has received worldwide recognition for its historic and cultural significance. They have studied many years to come to the festival to display their skill and knowledge of the art of hula and it shows while watching the performances. Seeing the beautifully coordinated colors of the costumes with the flowing movements of the stunning polynesian dancers is a truly awesome sight to witness, especially when you think that the dancers are not just dancing but telling a story with every movement.

Amazingly enough the tickets to go to the festival are very reasonable, the only thing is they need to be purchased early in the year because there is limited seating. It would be recommended to get tickets before making final arrangements for your vacation to Hawaii if you have your heart set on going to the festival.

So, if you are planning on making a visit to the Big Island in the spring time you might want to coordinate your trip to take in the Merrie Monarch Festival with its many beautiful sights and cultural events. Make sure to bring your camera to capture some of the traditional Hawaiian beauty that will create magnificent memories for years to come.

Thanks goes out to www.merriemonarch.com and the Merrie Monarch organization for helping supply information for this article.