WAIKIKI, HONOLULU, HAWAII - Outrigger Enterprises Group, along with the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, has unveiled at Waikiki Beach Walk Hawaii's first exhibit honoring Hawaii's most influential musicians.
The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame exhibit marks the second historical music display for Waikiki Beach Walk's signature Hawaiian Heritage music program - Na Mele No Na Pua, Music for the Generations. The program is a collaborative effort between Outrigger Enterprises Group, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame and the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts. Na Mele No Na Pua launched in April 2007 and has resulted in an exciting, multi-faceted music program.
The highly successful program offers several free elements for visitors and residents to enjoy: a historical exhibit showing the timeline of Hawaii's rich musical history, a monthly schedule of live performances, and special educational and cultural events aimed to preserve, protect and perpetuate Hawaii's music. Additionally, guests can dine and relax at the Outrigger Reef's Shorebird Restaurant to enjoy entertainment by
contemporary Hawaiian music and steel guitar artists.
"Originally, this program was planned with a monthly concert series, but with such an overwhelming response and impressive visitor and resident attendance, we are adding new performance elements to the program for 2008," said Eric Masutomi, vice president of planning for Outrigger Enterprises Group. "In the past, Waikiki was the center of
Hawaiian music and entertainment in Hawaii. Our goal with this program is to bring back authentic Hawaiian culture and music to Waikiki."
Located on the first level of Waikiki Beach Walk along the mauka corridor, leading to Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk's porte cochere, the new Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame glass-encased display pays tribute to inductees of the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame - composers, singers and performers of Hawaiian music.
"We're grateful to Outrigger for taking this exciting step to make Hawaiian culture even more accessible to local residents and visitors in Waikiki," said James "Kimo" M.K. Stone, president of the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. "Outrigger is making a tremendous contribution to commemorate Hawaiian music's historical significance, while acknowledging the composers and performers that helped to create this island tradition."
Since the program's launch last year, the Na Mele No Na Pua concert series has featured a number of Hawaii's award-winning entertainers, including Eddie Kamae & The Sons of Hawaii, Aunty Genoa Keawe, Raiatea Helm, Amy Hanaialii Gilliom, many of whom are 2007 Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame inductees.
The 2008 program for Na Mele No Na Pua includes the following elements:
Two Permanent Exhibits of Hawaii's Music Heritage
Along the makai (ocean) corridor of the Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk Hula Tower, a 50 foot long, glass-encased timeline of Hawaiian music takes viewers from the days when Polynesians first arrived in Hawaii to the current time. The exhibit shows the evolution of Hawaiian music, its impact on the islands' culture and features the Hawaiian nose flute, the introduction of the ukulele and other artifacts.
The second exhibit, located along the mauka (mountain) corridor of the Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk, leading from the hotel's porte cochere to the open air plaza of Waikiki Beach Walk, pays tribute to Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame musicians, composers and other honorees. Two panels of the exhibit will be replaced each year to make room for new inductees.
Live Performances
Beginning Sunday, April 6, Na Mele No Na Pua will present a weekly "Sunday Showcase" at the Waikiki Beach Walk Plaza Stage from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. This free program will feature popular island musicians and groups, up-and-coming local performers, hula halau, and more - all showcasing the diverse talent that can be found in our island home. Specific performers will be announced in the coming weeks and months.
Continuing throughout 2008 is the weekly program Ku Ha'aheo, "To Cherish with Pride," held every Tuesday afternoon from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Waikiki Beach Walk Plaza Stage. Led by kumu hula and cultural advisor Blaine Kamalani Kia, the weekly performance features both adult and keiki (children) hula dancers in a unique blending of contemporary and traditional elements focusing on island traditions, cultural beliefs, classic hapa haole tunes and historical moments in Hawaii, all told through song and dance.
Na Mele No Na Pua Signature Concerts
The program's signature concerts will continue to be staged on the fourth floor Grand Lanai of Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk and will feature renowned Hawaiian musicians with performers to be announced in the coming months. Performance times will remain from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. However, beginning in April, the concerts will shift to a bi-monthly schedule with concerts held on the final Sunday of the
scheduled month. Thus, concert dates for the rest of 2008 are:
Saturday, March 29 - featuring Willie K
Sunday, April 27
Sunday, June 29
Sunday, August 31
Sunday, October 26
Sunday, December 28 (special pre-Christmas concert)
Educational Opportunities and Special Events
Na Mele No Na Pua hosts ongoing events to preserve, protect and perpetuate Hawaii's music, including CD release parties and CD signings by Hawaiian musicians, ceremonies for artists being recognized by the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame and the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts, among other activities. These events will also be open to both visitors and local residents.
The Na Mele No Na Pua program began as an idea to create a "Preservation Hall" for Hawaiian music and is another great reason for visitors to come to Hawaii, residents to come into Waikiki and for everyone to enjoy the legendary aloha spirit of Hawaiian music and dance and experience the islands' unique host culture - at its finest.
Musical Weekends at the Outrigger Reef
One weekend a month is being informally dubbed as "music weekend" at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach. Kicking it off is the Aloha Friday Luncheon, a popular attraction among local residents and visitors alike.
Hosted by Hawaiian music radio station KINE, the luncheon is offered at the oceanfront Shore Bird Restaurant and Beach Bar. Attendees can enjoy views of legendary Waikiki Beach, mouth-watering Hawaiian food, and live entertainment by many of Hawaii's hottest contemporary musicians. At $24 per adult and $14 for children under 12 years old, the cost makes the luncheon one of the most reasonable entertainment experiences in Waikiki.
"Aloha Friday Luncheons are as much for residents as they are for our visiting guests," said Alan Yamamoto of KINE Radio. "Ono (delicious) local-style food, great Hawaiian music, and an awesome location like the Shore Bird, right on the sands of Waikiki Beach -- exactly the way we like to kick back and relax in Hawaii."
Just 48 hours later, Outrigger Reef guests can listen to live Hawaiian steel guitar music at the hotel's monthly Steel Guitar Sunday -- a backyard style event filled with music, chatting and fun.
Starting at 2 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month at the Shore Bird Restaurant, Steel Guitar Sunday features music by some of Hawaii's finest steel guitarists including Alan Akaka, Greg Sardinha, Bobby Ingano and Casey Olsen. Other steel guitarists are invited to bring their instruments and jam with the featured performers on Waikiki Beach.
Upcoming Aloha Friday Luncheons and Steel Guitar Sundays include: March 7 and 9, April 11 and 13, May 9 and 11, June 6 and 8, July 11 and 13, August 8 and 10, September 12 and 14, October 10 and 12, and November 7 and 9.
For more information and reservations for either of these Outrigger Reef events, call the Shore Bird Restaurant at 808-922-2887.
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About Waikiki Beach Walk®
Outrigger Enterprises Group's Waikiki Beach Walk is the largest development project ever to be undertaken in Waikiki. The 8-acre area, bordered by Kalakaua Avenue, Lewers Street, Kalia Road, Beach Walk and Saratoga Road, has been completely rebuilt as a vibrant showcase and gathering place in the new Waikiki. With a total cost of $535 million, it features an outdoor entertainment plaza, 40 new retailers, six great
restaurants, and four hotels. Incorporating a design theme that celebrates Hawaii's voyaging and ocean heritage and takes advantage of the island's cooling trade winds and year-round excellent weather, Waikiki Beach WalkR is the consummate expression of Hawaii today -- a place where people come to be enlivened with warm hospitality, a
rich confluence of cultures, and nature's precious gifts from land and sea. The project's Phase One opened in December 2006. For more information, visit www.waikikibeachwalk.com.
About Outrigger Reef on the Beach
The oceanfront anchor of the new Waikiki Beach Walk entertainment district, Outrigger Reef on the Beach is ideally situated between beautiful Waikiki Beach and exciting Waikiki. Currently undergoing a $100 million makeover, the hotel is being transformed into Oahu's newest haven of elegance, gracious hospitality and unparalleled
commitment to Hawaiian culture. The project is being carefully completed in multiple phases to ensure the continued comfort of guests. On property are a wide array of restaurants, shops and services including a 5,000-square-foot day spa. The adjacent Waikiki Beach Walk is Oahu's newest entertainment destination, home to shops, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and accommodations spanning a nearly 8-acre area in Waikiki.
About Outrigger Enterprises Group
Outrigger Enterprises Group is one of the largest and fastest-growing hospitality services companies in the Asia-Pacific region. Outrigger is a family-owned company with more than 60 years of hospitality experience and runs a highly-successful, multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties, including Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, OHANA Hotels & Resorts, Outrigger Condominium Collection and Embassy Suites®-Waikiki Beach Walk®.* Outrigger Enterprises Group also operates and develops hotel properties and hospitality-related retail and real estate opportunities for partners in Hawaii, the Pacific, the mainland USA and Asia. For on-line information, log on at www.outriggerenterprisesgroup.com or www.outrigger.com.
*Embassy Suites is a registered trade mark of Hilton Hotels Corporation.