Remove ImagesPicks of the Week
August 06, 2009
photo:Sean Michael Hower.
Saturday (Aug. 8), 7:30-9:30pm, Kula Shofukuji Mission
Get out your getas! Only a few bon dances remain in a summer season that's sadly winding down, so go Upcountry to my favorite festival installment, hosted by the Kula Shofukuji Mission. Everything illuminated by the soft light of colorful strung lanterns, it's a sight to behold—a beautiful bevy of dancers dressed in bright silk kimono and hapi coats, forming concentric rings around the yagura, a tower erected for the festival where taiko drummers perch, adding an enthusiastic live beat. Treat yourself to a heaping bowl of chow fun, top it off with dessert of warm andagi or sweet shaved ice, and you're well on your way to a perfect August night. You'll likely end up parking roadside along Kekaulike Ave. (or Old Haleakala Hwy., whatever you like call 'um), but it's worth the manini walk. One of the loveliest things about Hawaii's bon dances is the wholesome hospitality; everyone is encouraged to follow along and dance. Maybe it's the Kula people or the town's thick piney foliage, crisp air and the gentle mountain mist that rolls down through the hillside graveyard, alive with the aroma of incense and tangerine—but whatever it is, it's hard not to find a little peace and enchantment. Maui Time Weekly, Jacob Shafer