Blue Cross Animal Hospital

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.

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.

Kumu Kahua is a theater that celebrates and examines life in Hawaii, showcasing some of the state's most talented actors, directors, playwrights and technicians. The theater stages plays about life in Hawaii, plays by Hawaiian playwrights, and plays for Hawaii's people. The 100-seat playhouse is an intimate affair, the perfect setting to watch world premieres by local playwrights such as Dennis Carroll, Lee Cataluna, Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, Edward Sakamoto and Lee A. Tonouchi. Performances have included notable favorites such as "Ghosts in the Plague Year," "The Great Kaua'i Train Robbery" and "It's All Relative." Another unique aspect of the theater is that it encourages actors to use their natural local dialect or accent. Many of the plays are written in Hawaii Creole English. The theater promotes local talent by offering classes in acting and writing, as well as sponsoring an annual playwriting contest. Located in Honolulu, Kumu Kahua Theatre was founded in 1971.