Now that I’ve recovered from the 2009 Merrie Monarch Festival I thought it would be a good time to appreciate those who were part of the great event.
First thanks to all of the halau who put in many tireless hours of practice. It seems as though the performances get better every year.
Thank you to those who put on the Merrie Monarch Festival. It was great to see founders Aunty Dottie Thompson and Uncle George Naope attend the final night. A big mahalo to Thompson’s daughter Luana who now runs the festival.
The crew behind the scenes that scrambled to put on the broadcast, in HD for the first time. KITV Engineering Director Rodney Shimabukuro was everywhere.
The broadcast talent was great as always, but here is where I really wanted to go. The biggest thanks and my amazement goes to KITV’s Paula Akana. Paula lost her father one week before the Merrie Monarch broadcast started.
She is made of sterner stuff than most. Despite her tragic loss, she managed to finish putting her Best of Merrie Monarch and Backstage at the Merrie Monarch shows together in the days after her father’s death. She then went on to show her professionalism by hosting the festival for six hours plus a night.
Paula has kept her pain private and is obviously still grieving, but she felt she couldn’t let down the public or the station by stepping down from the Merrie Monarch Festival broadcast. Send your thoughts, prayers and aloha.
