This weekend the 2025 San Diego Ho’olaule’a Hawaiian Cultural Festival was held at Liberty Station in Point Loma.
The free event attracted a good crowd of happy people, who enjoyed Hawaiian traditional hula dance, song and culture, not to mention dozens of vendors, and a tempting variety of island food.
The main stage was a nonstop center of activity. I took photos as the hula dancing began and stayed for a good while. Several dance groups were represented. The dancers wore a variety of colorful costumes depending on the style of hula. There were dancers of all ages.
The event website explains how their goal is to perpetuate Hawaiian culture through music and dance, both kahiko (ancient) and ʻauana (modern), and we welcome hālau (hula dance schools) both near and far.
After watching hula dancing, I walked among the many vendors, visited the Hawaiian Cultural Village, then grabbed something to eat!
Enjoy these photos. Sorry, but I can’t properly identify the dances or groups.
If you go to this event next year, take better notes than me!
Now I’m just wandering around. A sunny summer morning in San Diego…
Here a segment of the long food row to one side of the festival…
Now I’ve arrived at the Hawaiian Cultural Village!
That table on the left by Lei Hulu of California was showcasing the Hawaiian art of feather craft…
A nearby sign explained that the word ipu is Hawaiian for gourd. The ipu is a hula implement that can be played as a drum. It produces two sounds, depending on whether you strike it with the base of your palm or your finger tips.
Kōnane is a two-player strategy board game from Hawaii which was invented by the ancient Hawaiian Polynesians. It’s a game I learned today and rapidly lost.
Lastly, I learned about the Bishop Museum.
They came all the way to San Diego to share smiles and information about their museum in Honolulu. Founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop, in honor of his wife Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop—the last descendant of the royal Kamehameha dynasty—Bishop Museum houses the largest collection of Hawaiian and Pacific cultural artifacts and natural history specimens in the world.
The Bishop Museum has lots of cultural information online! Check out the museum here. Watch educational videos on their YouTube channel here!
The Bishop Museum table had this beautiful Hawaiian Honeycreeper, similar to one created by master woodcarver Haruo Uchiyama, on display!
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.
Feel free to share!
Cool San Diego Sights! 