Talented guitarists vie for a title while playing with purposely loosened strings. In another contest, men sing in their falsetto voices while battling for a coveted honor. These two competitions represent revered Hawaii musical traditions that are celebrated each year: slack key guitar and Hawaiian falsetto.
This fall you can experience the breadth of island festivals that celebrate everything from the oldest of Hawaiian traditions to the latest in contemporary foreign and independent cinema. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii supports numerous events that showcase the depth of Hawaii’s artistic and cultural offerings. Find out more about the Fall Festivals at Starwood Hawaii's Resorts and Hotels.
Oahu
12th Annual Aloha Festivals Hawaiian Falsetto ContestThe Monarch Room in The Royal Hawaiian hotel will once again provide a majestic backdrop to Oahu’s 12th Annual Aloha Festivals Hawaiian Falsetto Contest on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 7:00 p.m.
According to an encyclopedia of Hawaiian music edited by the late George Kanahele, a historian and cultural advisor, falsetto music is a combination of pre-European Hawaiian chanting, early missionary hymn song style and popular European 19th Century music. The music soared to popularity in the late 1800’s. Others attribute falsetto to the paniolo, or Spanish-Indian cowboys who came to Hawaii in the 1830’s.
The original Hawaiian falsetto art form was distinguished from the Western genre by two important elements: Hawaiian falsetto singers practiced the "ha`i," or break in the voice; And females were forbidden to sing falsetto. Instead, male performers cast their voices into the upper registers of the musical scale to sing and perpetuate stories of Hawaiian culture. The 2006 Aloha Festivals Hawaiian Falsetto Contest continues this tradition.
Tickets for the Aloha Festivals Hawaiian Falsetto Contest may be purchased from the Sheraton Hotels in Waikiki Central Dining Desk at (808) 921-4600. Designated premier seating is priced at $55 per person with general seating offered at $40 per person ($5 discount off the general seating with Aloha Festivals ribbon).
12th Annual Hula Festival Honors Princess Kaiulani
Each year, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani hosts a week of special events honoring the legacy and birthday of its namesake, Princess Victoria Kaiulani. Appropriately named Hana Hoohiwahiwa O Kaiulani (to celebrate and honor Kaiulani), the commemoration week is scheduled for October 15 - 21, 2006.
Each day of Hana Hoohiwahiwa O Kaiulani, a different complimentary cultural activity will be offered at the hotel including ukulele lessons, fresh flower lei making, flower hairpin making, hula lessons, and cooking demonstrations. The culmination of the weeklong celebration is the Princess Kaiulani Keiki Hula Festival, showcasing performances by more than 200 keiki (children) from various halau (hula schools). For more information, please call (808) 922-5811.
In conjunction with the Princess Kaiulani Keiki Hula Festival, an arts and crafts fair in the Ainahau Lobby offers attendees an opportunity to purchase locally handcrafted items including Hawaiian jewelry, instruments, hula ornaments, feather leis, seed bracelets, and other crafts by island artisans.
All activities including the Princess Kaiulani Keiki Hula Festival are free and open to the general public. Hawaii’s beloved Princess Kaiulani’s birthday is celebrated on October 16. Room rates start at $270 per night, double occupancy. For reservations, please call toll free 1-888-488-3535 or visit www.starwoodhotels.com/hawaii.
26th Annual Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival
The Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival (LVHIFF), the premier international film event in the Pacific, celebrates its 26th year this October 19 - 29, 2006. The festival will feature numerous screenings, seminars, workshops, star-studded award presentations and receptions with top Asian, Pacific and North American filmmakers.
Attendees who wish to retrace the steps of silent movie screen stars and modern-day Hollywood royalty can stay at The Royal Hawaiian and Sheraton Moana Surfrider, where the romance with the legendary paradise, known as Waikiki, began. These historic landmarks of grace and affluent elegance, featured in several films, have lured numerous celebrities to their doors. In partnership with LVHIFF, these two hotels, along with sister hotels, the Sheraton Waikiki and Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, announce a special room package. Film aficionados and Hollywood fans are invited to experience the excitement of Hawaii’s premier film festival up close.
The "LVHIFF Package" offers special room rates (based on a 3-night minimum stay) starting as low as $121 + tax per night at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani. Included in all packages booked are the following exciting event tickets and logo gifts (valued at over $750):
- (20) Quick Tix (priority admittance to any LVHIFF film, excluding the Opening Night film and special event screenings)
- Celebrity cocktail reception and private screening with discussion for (2) guests on Wednesday, 10/25
- (2) Invitations to the Opening Night Gala
- (2) Invitations to the Awards Show
- (2) LVHIFF T-shirts
- (2) LVHIFF canvas bags
- (2) LVHIFF posters
- (2) Complimentary tickets to The Contemporary Museum Honolulu
The Big Island
Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival - Kona StyleWhat started in 1982 as a tribute to the late, famed Gabby ‘Pops’ Pahinui has grown into a statewide festival that celebrates the music for which Pahinui was perhaps best known, ki-hoalu, or slack key guitar, the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival.
This year, the festival celebrates its 14th year on Hawaii’s Big Island with a free concert at Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa on Sunday, September 3 from noon until 6:00 p.m. The "Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival - Kona Style" concert is part of Starwood Hawaii’s Flavors of Island Music initiative and will feature notable artists Ledward Ka’apana, Michael Kaawa, Makana, David Kahiapo, Walter Keale, Paul Togioka, Pali, Donald Kaulia, Kohala, Brittni Paiva, Sonny Lim, Dennis and David Kamakahi, Dwight Kanae, Al Ka’ai and Keoki Kahumoku.
The ki-hoalu style of playing the guitar requires the artist to "slacken" the individual guitar strings to the artist’s liking and play in an "open tuning" method. Through the years, dozens of tunings have been experimented with and used by artists such as Pahinui, Atta Isaacs, Sonny Chillingworth, Leonard Kwan, Keola Beamer, and Ledward Kaapana. Experimentation continues today with dozens of Hawaii’s present day slack key artists finding their own signature sounds. Ki-hoalu has gained worldwide acceptance as evidenced by its introduction into the Grammy Awards Hawaiian Music Category in 2004.
For more information on festival dates on other islands, artist updates, and more information on slack key visit www.hawaiianslackkeyguitarfestivals.com. To inquire about special room rates at Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa for Labor Day Weekend, concert goers may contact Sheraton room reservations at (808) 930-4900.
Starwood Hawaii’s Flavors of Island Music
Starwood Hotels & Resorts launched "Starwood Hawaii’s Flavors of Island Music" in 2005, a campaign that celebrates the entertainers and diverse sounds of the islands.Statewide, Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Hawaii feature approximately 200 local entertainers who perform regularly at the properties. Other well-known artists who play regularly at Starwood resorts in Hawaii include Grammy Award®-winning slack key guitarist Ken Emerson (Princeville Resort); Kelly Boy DeLima and Ledward Kaapana (The Royal Hawaiian); and the Ka`ala Boys (Sheraton Princess Kaiulani). For more information about Starwood Hawaii's Flavors of Island Music, visit www.flavorsofislandmusic.com.
Our thanks to April Reading of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii for providing this information. Based on our personal experience, we highly recommend any of these great resorts.