Henderson festival shares heritage, culture of Pacific Islands
Women with flowers tucked into their hair, men with floral button-down T-shirts and children wearing flowered leis crowded the Henderson Events Plaza on Saturday afternoon to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Pacific Islands.
About 70 people clustered beneath the shade of large white tents, eating spam musubi, sipping Hawaiian Sun Iced Tea from sweating cans, and scooping spoonfuls of pineapple soft-serve into their mouths at the Ho’olaule’a Pacific Islands Festival, presented by the Las Vegas Hawaiian Civic Club.
As they ate, guests were serenaded by Danny Estacado, “Maui’s Hawaiian Cowboy,” who sang a rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” while strumming an acoustic electric guitar.
Two small girls with long dark hair and white flower crowns sat in the front row, their faces tilted up at Estacado and the bass and guitar players on either side of him.
One of the girls, 5-year-old Zian Leung, would stand on the same stage an hour later and belt out “How Far I’ll Go” from the Disney movie “Moana.”
“I chose it because I sang it a lot of times,” Zian said, pushing her thick dark hair out of her face as she ate a malasada — a ball of deep-fried dough, coated with sugar. “And I’m a good singer. That’s why I’m singing that.”
Zian, who is from the Micronesian Marshall Islands, began dancing with her hula group, Hula Girl Rocks, after she saw the movie “Lilo &Stitch” when she was 3, her mother said.
Hula Girl Rocks was one of several groups performing dances from the Pacific Islands.
On a second stage at the Henderson Events Plaza, 50-year-old Sheldeen Haleamau floated barefoot in small circles on the concrete amphitheater floor, her hips swaying and knees bouncing to the pure-sounding melodies sung by her husband, 52-year-old Gary Haleamau.
Gary Haleamau, who has been singing since he was 15, met Sheldeen Haleamau in 1984 in Hawaii, and they began performing together shortly afterward.
“It’s what we love to do,” he said, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled at his wife, who wore a long red dress, a yellow sash and a crown of yellow flowers atop her dark hair.
The couple moved to Las Vegas 18 years ago.
“Everyone looks forward to an event like this. For one, it has to do with hula, music, food — it embraces every part of the culture,” Sheldeen Haleamau said. “Even in all of our ‘busyness,’ our everyday lives, we come together to enjoy it as Hawaiians.”
Suzie Mokuahi, 59, moved from Oahu to Las Vegas 21 years ago because of Hawaii’s high cost of living. The things Mokuahi said she misses most about her home island are the weather, the beaches and her family.
But Hawaiian food is a close fourth, and it was the reason she went to Saturday’s festival, she said.
“It brings all the local people from Hawaii together,” said Mokuahi, who still visits Oahu once a year to be with family.
Kuuleimaile Duvauchelle said she also went for the food.
“You don’t really get this often in Vegas,” Duvauchelle said, gesturing toward her near-empty plate of Laulau (pork wrapped in taro leaves), rice, Kalua pig, poi (mashed taro root) and Lomi Salmon (a salmon and tomato dish).
Beyond the plethora of food, the festival also featured a small petting zoo, a bounce house, and vendors selling kukui nut leis, floral sarongs and beaded jewelry.
After her performance, Sheldeen Haleamau stood to the side and watched as another group of dancers moved on to the stage, one woman carrying a wooden drum.
“We’re Hawaiian, so we support not only our culture, but the people who appreciate it,” she said. “They might not even be Hawaiian, but they’re Hawaiian at heart … so we’re here to carry that tradition on.”
Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com. Follow @lauxkimber on Twitter.
About the festival
The Ho’olaule’a Pacific Islands Festival, founded and organized by the Las Vegas Hawaiian Civic Club, is in its 27th year.
The two-day celebration, held in Henderson since 2007, offers traditional island entertainment, crafts, fine art displays, workshops, vendors, a car show, and an indoor career, business and health fair.
The festival continues from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Henderson Events Plaza, 200 S. Water St.
For more information, visit lasvegashcc.org, or cityofhenderson.com.
