Even after an undeniably hard loss, the aloha spirit lives on in Vancouver. You can enjoy a sample of that warm, welcoming vibe today and Saturday in Esther Short Park as the 16th annual Three Days of Aloha festival honors its late founder in appropriate fashion: a beautiful green space stuffed full of color, music and fun.
Last year saw the death, at age 62, of a humble but truly powerful Vancouver leader: “Aunty Deva” Yamashiro, who was born on the island of O’ahu, Hawaii, participated in the “Olympics of hula” there, then moved to the mainland with her two young sons in 1995, and to Vancouver in 1998.
Vancouver is where the spirited Yamashiro established the educational Ke Kukui Foundation to help keep Polynesian culture alive in families who might be at risk of forgetting their roots and customs. The foundation maintains a small community center at 301 E. McLoughlin Blvd. where it offers history and language classes, music and dance lessons, a lending library — even elder storytelling and ukulele jam sessions.
And, late every July, the Ke Kukui community brings all that music, tradition and joy to the wider community. The serious first day of the three-day event is always Thursday at Clark College — where there’s instruction in a wide range of crafts, practices and issues, from beginning hula to traditional quilting to discussions about reclaiming cultural identity — and that’s passed now, but Friday is when the free outdoor festivities begin.
First, at 5 p.m., comes the Hapa Haole Hula competition, pitting experienced solo and group dancers against one another in what the Ke Kukui Foundation calls “a throwback to the early modern era” of pop Hawaiian music and culture — specifically 1900 to 1959, the heyday of irresistible Hawaiian-style hits such as “Little Grass Shack” and “Hukilau.”
Those tunes may seem slightly silly now, but many of the ambitious musicians and competing dancers in Vancouver’s Three Days of Aloha flock here from all around North America and Polynesia — so you know the talent is bound to be spectacular.
Friday night’s winning dance soloists and groups will take center stage during Saturday’s main event, the Ho’ike and Hawaiian Festival, which sees upwards of 20,000 visitors show up every year to enjoy dancing, music, craft vendors, activities for children, island food and the warm, welcoming spirit of aloha.
Aunty Deva surely is smiling upon the whole scene. In fact, you can honor her memory by rising bright and early Saturday and participating in the annual festival 5K, which pursues one of Ke Kukui’s official missions: promoting health and fitness and combating heart disease, diabetes and obesity — the sorts of ailments affecting Americans in general and Pacific Islanders disproportionately. The run (or walk) starts at 8 a.m. in Esther Short Park, heads east along the waterfront and turns around near McMenamins restaurant. All adults runners receive a T-shirt and adult beverages (Kona Brew) after the run. Run registrations benefit the Ke Kukui Foundation.
