Hula club brings aloha to Sunrise
HUI O HULA
Mahalo/thanks to Martha Goosens for the introduction, LW’s Hawaiian dance club Hui O Hula will entertain the residents of the nearby Sunrise of Seal Beach assisted living center on Saturday, May 1, which is also May Day/Lei Day in Hawai’i.
In Hawai’i, Lei Day is a statewide celebration of lei-making and the giving of them. Though its origins are largely unknown, the tradition of giving lei is believed to have started with Hawaiians presenting lei of nuts, seeds, shells, leaves and flowers as offerings to their gods. The first Lei Day was celebrated in 1928.
This Saturday at 10:30 a.m., Hui O Hula will bring aloha through music, dance and a canned-food drive to the residents, staff, and their family and friends of Sunrise in the parking lot off Lampson Avenue.
The hula program will include two well-known songs about lei: “Blue Lei,” composed by instructor Jojo Weingart’s hula family Milton Beamer, and “My Orchid Lei,” composed by Weingart’s Waikiki friend Victor Rittenband. There will also be audience participation dances, including “The Hukilau Song,” “My Little Grass Shack” and “Tiny Bubbles.” All are welcome.
On May 7, dancers and musicians will be at the triangle greenbelt between buildings 278 and 279 in Mutual 11 with a hula program in honor of the upcoming Mother’s Day. Hui O Hula expresses mahalo to Lori Chamberlin for inviting the club back for the gathering.
During the pandemic, all hula festivitieshavebeenoutdoors.Anyone inclined to be entertained by hula dancers and musicians should call Kaye Huff at (562) 431-2242.
Free lessons are offered at Veterans Plaza every Thursday at 1:30 p.m., as well as near Building 42 in Mutual 4 on Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m. until further notice. Call Huff or email jojo@huiohula. com for detailed information.
May birthdays includes Cynthia Saxon (facing camera) cel - ebrates her birthday this May. Her passion for flowers, hula and fine wine keeps her youthful and happy in her retirement years.
Jojo Weingart
