Heiva I Kauai competes with Na Pali Challenge

It was a busy weekend for Kauai. Two high profile events sold out flights to the Garden Island. The three major carriers, Hawaiian Airlines, Aloha Airlines and Island Air all reported full capacity on flights to and from Kauai during the events. It's too bad that the Hawaii Superferry isn't operating yet. A great opportunity was missed to showcase Hawaii's newest interisland transport.

The Garden Island reports that many of the dancers participating in the Heiva I Kauai Ia Orana Tahiti were also participating in the paddling event as well. The paddling event is larger and possibly siphoned off attendance to Saturdays Heiva activites. “From what we heard, there were several groups who just couldn’t get flights here,” a vendor said. “On Saturday, one girl came running in just as they were announcing her competition because she had just come off a flight here.”

Several of the entertainers and groups that were planning to participate were not able to get to Kauai because of the sold out flights. One person who was able to book a flight was Carol Casil. Casil, visiting from the Big Island, had two of her daughters with her, and was planning to visit the Heiva following the paddling championships. Casil was the founder of the Kauai Tahiti Fete and has been a longtime advocate of Tahitian dance and music competitions before moving to the Big Island.

This year’s Heiva was dedicated to the memory of David Kaneholani, a longtime supporter of the Heiva.

Tepairu Manea, director of Heiva I Kauai, was pleased with the participation and expressed his appreciation to staff, vendors, participants and audience.

More reporting at The Garden Island