Okinawan Festival 2011: Food, Fun, and Educational

Mother and daughter, Malia and Lori Kunioka, donned traditional kimonos for the camera.

Okinawan Festival Flyer Okinawan music, dance, food, and culture took center stage at the 29th Okinawan Festival at Kapiolani Park over the Labor Day weekend. Throngs of residents and visitors enjoyed traditional foods—champuru, andagi, soba, and other favorites— taiko drums and the Ryukyu sounds of snakeskin sanshin, tattooing, costume photosessions, the islands' largest bon dance, and historical insights into Ryukyuan philosophy and World War II experience by Ryukyun residents here and in Okinawa. About 50,000 persons had been expected to attend the event with an estimated 400 from Okinawa.

Ryukyu Star

Okinawa's talented and popular shimauta (island songs) singer, Mamoru Miyagi, serenaded women in the audience at the beginning of his performance on Sunday and then rocked the audience with kachashi music in his final encore performance. Old and young got up to their feet to dance the traditional free style dance. Miyagi, whose Ryukyu Moon has become a Ryukyuan classic, performed many of his own compositions with heartwarming lyrics that show appreciation for his island home. This was Miyagi's fifth appearance at the festival. Mamoru Miyagi Also appearing was Yoko Hizuki, who performed with bands in Japan and was a regular host of the Hai Sai Kobe weekly show on Radio Kansai.

Mamoru Miyagi serenades women in the audience.

The annual Labor Day weekend celebration was held Sept. 3 and 4. Next year's celebration is scheduled for Sept. 1 and 2, 2012.

The Okinawan Festival is organized and run by an army of over two thousand volunteers from the Hawaii United Okinawan Association’s 49 member‐clubs and their extended ‘ohana of Uchinanchu and Uchinanchu‐at‐heart. Proceeds from the Okinawan Festival are used to fund the HUOA’s cultural programs. The first Okinawan Festival was held in 1982 at McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Park.In 1990, the 90th anniversary of Okinawan immigration to Hawaii, the Festival moved to Kapiolani Park, attracting a larger, broader and more ethnically diverse audience. The move proved to be one of the most successful means of sharing Okinawan culture with residents and visitors alike.

Toma Family