KEALAKEKUA — Sugai Kona Coffee Talent Night helped kick off the 45th annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival on Friday night at the Konawaena Elementary School.
In a performance full of young and old strutting their stuff, the Mexican Children’s Dancers stole the first half of the show. As the lead dancer shyly walked up to the microphone and said simply, “I hope you enjoy our little piece of Mexico,” the stage suddenly came alive with seven beautiful dancing girls with white and red roses in their hair and elaborately frilled dresses of pink, yellow, green, red and black. As the girls turned and twirled their arms, their dresses became filled with stylized motion, matching the beat of their Mexican music, creating the appearance of seven dancing flowers.
Roman and Linda Molina warmed up the evening with their Hawaiian traditional music as approximately 150 community members of all ages found their seats. Hosted by Charlie Nahale, the show started off with Troy Aukai’s impressive demonstration of his ROTC rifle drill. Next up was the Kona Hongwanji Taiko Band, whose bold percussion rhythm and energy awakened a deep sense of the Japanese soul and heritage that has helped to form Kona’s coffee culture.
Soon to be 90 years old, James Mitchell from the Kona Seniors Karaoke Group sang an inspiring rendition of Elton John’s “Your Song.” The Aloha Teen Theater Group did a short skit that illustrated our community’s youth talent and vivacity, Irie Nagai did a subtle yet powerful “Japanese Dance for Harvest,” in a pink and white flowered kimono with orange, white and gold fans which seemed to mimic the movements of wind and water and the Earth’s elements.
At the onset of intermission, as the evening pushed on to eight o’clock, many families in the audience with young, sleepy children filed out of the auditorium. Although there was a significant drop in spectators, the audience condensed into a group of older, stalwart community members whose deep roots to our island and South Kona particularly became felt like a tangible glow in the room.
David Chiddo, a South Kona resident whose wife and daughter were performing in the show, commented on the feeling of the evening.
“This is it. In a nut shell,” he said. “The community all out in force encapsulated in an evening of entertainment. It’s great.”
Opening the second half of the show were the Friends of Guy Toyama, six singers accompanied by three recorder players and seven Koto players. They performed traditional Okinawan songs. The women’s and girls’ voices sang out true as they were joined by many of the Japanese-Americans in the audience. Grace Vallez filled the room with her beautiful voice and embracing spirit, and Chee Johnson quieted and mesmerized the crowd with her tai chi dance, accented by the sound of the swoop of her fan and the wind instruments of the Chinese music she moved to. But when Lance Okamura of the Kona Seniors Karaoke Group got up and sang Ave Maria in Japanese the night took a different tone. The quality and pureness of his baritone voice carried the audience into a place of reverie.
This was the perfect set up for Natie Adarme Whitlock to take the stage with her particular blend of story telling and singing. As she evoked memories of her own childhood in South Kona, listening to the radio while picking coffee with her family, and struggling with a child’s clumsiness, the audience nodded their heads in a shared history and an acknowledgement of the love and the bond of place. Jesse Lomongo and Linda Hirai continued the ambiance with their strong performances. Then Errol Ishimine sang “White Sport Coat” by Marty Robbins, and everyone was knee deep in nostalgia and loving it.
The show was completed with Lance Okamura returning to the stage and singing, “The Snow on Mauna Kea” by Jay Larrin.
“I am lonely for my mountain by the sea…” he sang and everyone sang along, loving our island and the people we share it with.