Leslie Lang | Talk Story Press

Aunty Dottie Thompson and George Na‘ope, together credited with starting Hilo, Hawai‘i’s Merrie Monarch Festival 46 years ago, are both looking frail this year, and both attended the festival briefly on the final night in wheelchairs.
Still, one can always count on Uncle George to look absolutely resplendent.

Re·splen·dent   (rĭ-splĕn‘dənt)
adj.
Splendid or dazzling in appearance; brilliant.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin resplendēns, resplendent-, present participle of resplendēre, to shine brightly : re-, re- + splendēre, to shine.]
Splendid. Dazzling. Brilliant. He definitely still shines.
 

It’s Merrie Monarch week and it’s absolutely the best week of the year here in Hilo. 
We went down to the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel this afternoon and watched the free hula performance by Puanani Crumb’s Halau Hula O Hilo Hanakahi.

It was wonderful. The music, the hula, the crowd. Hula Legend Uncle George Na‘ope was there, wheelchair-bound now, wearing a green running suit, white Crocs and then of course his hat and his wide gold bracelets running up his arm. 
I just love it all. The tiny kids who dance. The older ones who dance …

It’s almost Merrie Monarch week here on the Big Island. I love this week, when Hilo town shimmers and comes alive with people and flowers and hula everywhere.
Over at Big Island On The Cheap, we are going to be hitting Merrie Monarch hard. We’ll have a bunch of features — where to eat, half- and full-day trips to take around Hilo, all the exciting things going on with Merrie Monarch itself, some great local coupon deals that are exclusive to our readers (whether residents or visitors),  and some other surprises, …

Does anybody have extra Merrie Monarch tickets I could buy from them (at cost)?
One year my friend was on a mission to get Merrie Monarch tickets and asked a stranger in line at Starbucks, and said stranger indeed had extra tickets.
I haven’t asked at Starbucks yet, but how about you, online world? Surely you’re more effective than hitting up strangers at Starbucks!
I’d throw in a signed copy of my Exploring Historic Hilo book, if it helped.
Please ask around, tell your friends, all that. Let me know! I would really appreciate any help.