Day 6: May Day is Lei Day in Hilo

Pretty heavy rain showers all night, off and on. After breakfast on our lanai (the porch of our cottage), we drove towards Hilo with a stop at the second Macademia Nut Company on the island: Mauna Loa Nuts. Other than Hamakua, this one offers more chocolate covered nut varieties and pralines. Like the other one better.

 

 

1st of May - not an official holiday in the U.S.A., but "May Day is Lei Day in Hilo", and the 19th Hilo Lei Day Festival was taking place in the park in front of the stately Federal Building. A statue of King David Kalākaua (1836 – 1891) - a patron of Hawaiian music, dance, and culture, is set up in the park appropriately, and, the whole festival was an ode to Hawaiian culture and the Hawaiian people. It was a locals' event, seemed like everybody knew everybody else there. 

Big get-together for all ages, genders, nationalities (though, polynesian roots seemed to be prevalent), all kinds of characters (hippies, families, some tourists), and, there was the "Royal Court" with official reps from all Hawaiian islands in their typical colors (photo above). The Mayor of Big Island (right) made a speech and the official re-inauguration, and, there was "Tom The Chickenman" with his special chickens. 

Organisations had set up boothes, there were several lei making opportunities and demonstrationa, a stage with a band, and - most importantly - several dance groups and dancers. It's been fun to watch, only thing missing were food vendors.

On the pic the lady is showing visitors how to make frangipani (plumeria) leis. Others offered different techniques, flowers, berries, leaves, etc. to make your own lei or headband.

Dancers and dance groups, one very spirited young boy among them.

,,, and the perhaps most authentic dance group - impressive performance!

There were rainshowers all day, but water almost evaporated in the air, and only a few times we needed an umbrella. When we drove along the beaches to the east of Hilo when the festival ended, sun was out again and it became really warm, over 80 deg F. 

We stopped at Richardson Beach for a while - a good spot for snorkelers and ideal to learn surfing, but not so much a perfect swimming beach. A little naked gecko, a skink, was making friends with Peter (below),,,

On our way back to the AirBnB we, of course, had to check out a new brewery in our neighborhood: Wailuku Brewworks. Unfortunately, they didn't serve food, but IPAs were great and so was conversation with locals. Had some pasta with spam ("Frühstücksfleisch") in the cottage instead on our last evening.