Realty.Com Daniel Ulu

The art of hula is celebrated every April at the Merrie Monarch Festival, the largest 3-day dance festival on the islands and named after the last monarch of Hawaii, King David Kalakaua. In addition to the hula competition, there's also a crafts fair, an art show, hula shows, and a grand parade through Hilo town.

Kahilu Theatre began as the dream of a native Hawaiian, who wanted to create a theater that would inspire creativity and a passion for the arts among local residents and visitors. Built in 1979, the 490-seat theatre in the town of Waimea hosts stage performances throughout the year, as well as free community events, a youth concert series, meetings, lectures and other special events.  The gallery in the theater displays work of up-and-coming Hawaiian artists as well as established artists on the Big Island. The Youth Concert series is a special series of performances from the headlining shows, reworked especially for a younger audiences. Performances have included HANDS, a Chinese Percussion Team; Kealoha, the founder of HawaiiSlam; and PHILADANCO!, a Philadelphia Dance Company.

The U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii was once a bastion built to protect Hawaii from foreign invaders. Today, it tells the military story of Hawaii from its Polynesian beginning to the Vietnam conflict. The story that unfolds at the Army Museum details the men and the machines that protected a nation.