Leinani Group from Okinawa will be part of the formal opening ceremonies on Saturday.

2018 Okinawan Festival – Music, Dance, Taiko, Karate, Hula and Lots, Lots More!

SATURDAY, SEPT. 1, 2018  (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) 9:30 a.m. RYUKYU SOKYOKU KOYO KAI HAWAII SHIBU Derek Fujio, President, and Sara Nakatsu, Vice President Jane Kaneshiro Sozan Kai Bonnie Miyashiro Soho Kai Yamashiro Yoneko Sokyoku Kenkyu Kai Yasuko Arakawa Aki no Kai Sunny Tominaga Sokyoku Sanyuukai Kazuko Ito Sokyoku Kyoshitsu
Allison Arakawa Sears performing “Bashofu” at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

Musical Classic – “Bashofu” – Taking Us Home

The “Bashofu” Story Has Roots in Hawai‘i and Okinawa Jodie Chiemi Ching Umi no ao sa ni, sora no ao . . . (Deep emerald hues of the sea, the radiant blue hues in the sky . . .) For many Uchinanchu around the world, just hearing the first line of the song “Bashofu” triggers....
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Kaneohe Music Festival

WHO/WHAT: Kaneohe Higashi Hongwanji Mission will hold a music festival featuring live performances by the Kaneohe Higashi Hongwanji Band, City Boys, Ten Feet and more. The festival will also feature songs by the temple’s...
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Rhythm Summit in Concert

WHO/WHAT: RHYTHM SUMMIT, a unique collaboration made possible by the Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts in 2008, brings together the artistry and musicality of world-class artists — Kenny Endo (taiko, bamboo...
Elena Wang and Sam Tanabe, members of the Broadway cast of “Allegiance,” sing a song from the musical for the JCCH audience. Wang will play “Kei” in next year’s Los Angeles production of the musical. (Photos by Gregg Kakesako)

Community – “Allegiance” Cast Honors Nisei Veterans and Support Groups

“Allegiance” Lead George Takei Discusses the Musical’s Broader Message Gregg K. Kakesako Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Actor and civil rights activist George Takei said the story of the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were imprisoned behind barbed wire fences and guard towers in the months following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor because they looked like....
Bruce Hamada on the stand-up bass and Jim Howard on piano play the classics from the great American songbook at 53 by the Sea. (Photos courtesy Bruce Hamada)

Music – Swept Away By The Music of Bruce Hamada

Music is the Bassist/Vocalist’s Passion Alan Suemori Special to The Hawai‘i Herald “The very thought of you, makes my heart sing, like an April breeze on the wings of spring . . .” It is dinner hour at “53 by the Sea,” the upscale bistro overlooking Waikïkï, and Bruce Hamada’s voice is floating ethereally across....
Rimi Natsukawa of her concert last year in Hawai‘i: “At that time, the feeling of Hawai‘i was so welcoming, I strongly felt that I would like to come back again. Then came an opportunity to sing at the Okinawan Festival!” (Photo by Jon Itomura)

Lead Story – Rimi Natsukawa to Headline Okinawan Festival

The Okinawan Songbird’s Performance Set for Sunday, Sept. 3 Jodie Chiemi Ching Special to The Hawai‘i Herald The Japanese characters for Rimi Natsukawa’s family name mean “summer river.” How else could you describe the pure and magical flow of Natsukawa’s voice? The songbird whose recording of “Nada Sousou,” the signature tune from the heartbreaking 2006....
Image of 2017 Okinawan Festival flyer

2017 Okinawan Festival – Countdown on to the 35th Okinawan Festival!

Okinawan Festival Returning to Kapi‘olani Park Labor Day Weekend After cancelling last year’s Okinawan Festival just days before the signature summer event was set to open, citing safety concerns over an approaching hurricane, the Hawaii United Okinawa Association’s 2,000-plus volunteers will be out in force “Sharing Uchinanchu Aloha” during Labor Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday,....
Hawaii Okinawa Creative Arts will perform at 9:50 am on Sunday (Photo courtesy HOCA)

2017 Okinawan Festival – MUSIC, DANCE, AND LOTS MORE!

SATURDAY, SEPT. 2, 2017  (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) 9 a.m. RYUKYU SOKYOKU KOYO KAI HAWAII SHIBU Jane Kaneshiro and Bonnie Miyashiro, Co-chairs Jane Kaneshiro Sozan Kai Bonnie Miyashiro Soho Kai Toma Toyoko Sokyoku Kai Yamashiro Yoneko Sokyoku Kenkyu Kai Yasuko Arakawa Aki no Kai Sunny Tominaga Sokyoku Sanyuukai Chieko Miyasato Sokyoku Kai 9:30 a.m. RYUKYU KOTEN....
Photo of Lion Dance at the Okinawan Festival

2017 Okinawan Festival – Even More Culture in this Year’s Cultural Tent!

The Okinawan Festival’s Cultural Tent is a great place to spend several hours of your time at the festival expanding your knowledge of Okinawan culture. The Cultural Tent, which is organized annually by the Hui O Laulima women’s group, will feature an even wider selection of displays and activities this year — and more tent....

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