Coming to Central Park (1340 S. 4th St.), the Hui Kaululehau group is hosting Aloha Lou!, a Polynesian cultural festival celebrating the rich traditions of hula, Tahitian dance, and Samoan dance. There will be Asian American Pacific Islander arts and food. The festival will finish out AAPI Heritage Month on Saturday, May 31 from 1 – 5 p.m.
Louisville Independent caught up with Kaila Chung, the alaka’i (director) of Hui Kaululehua to find out more about Aloha Lou!
Is this the first year of the festival?
ʻAe! Yes, this is the first year for Aloha Lou Polynesian Cultural Festival! The idea was implanted by my Kumu Hula (master hula teacher) Kawika Alfiche when he was visiting for an event in 2023. Polynesian cultural fests happen all over the continent to bring Polynesians in the diaspora together to share in dance, music, food, language, and art and reach for home when weʻre far away.
Is hui kaululehua a school? Tell me a bit about the organization.
Hui Kaululehua is a cultural group that focuses on hula dance as a practice to preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture. Hula tells stories of aliʻi (kings, queens, chiefs), gods and goddesses, beautiful places, ceremonies, and love. Hula also requires dedication to many other cultural practices, like music, singing, chanting, learning ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian language), lei making, and more. We focus on educational opportunities to share hula with the community to honor Hawaiian culture and offer aloha.
What can people expect at the festival? Tell me a bit about Louisville’s Polynesian community.
We are incredibly excited to offer a full lineup of Polynesian dance including Hawaiian hula, Tahitian Ori, and Samoan Siva. We’ll also have a variety of arts and food vendors representing Polynesian culture and crafts. The event is free to the public and kid-friendly. I have found that Polynesians in the diaspora find each other to celebrate the lands and families we come from. When trying to decide on a location for the festival, we looked at census data and found that the zip codes around Central Park has the highest concentration of Polynesian folks in the city. There’s also a large Polynesian community in the Radcliff/Elizabethtown area because of Ft. Knox. We are hoping folks will come from near and far to celebrate with us at Aloha Lou!
For more information check out the website: HuiKaululehua.com or follow them on Instagram at @alohalou_fest.
