Events on Oahu: The Heiva i Valhi Tahitian Festival

Basic Information

• Name: The Heiva i Valhi Tahitian Festival
• Where: Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
• Cost: Adults $10, Kids $7
• More Information: Bishop Museum website

Narrative

Earlier this month I took my kids to go and see the Heiva i Valhi which is a festival that celebrates Tahitian culture.  One way the festival celebrate Tahitian culture is by hosting traditional Tahitian sporting events.  The sporting events included stone lifting and fruit basket bearing.  However, the most popular sport was the coconut tree climbing competition:

Some of the climbers were truly extraordinary how quickly they could climb to the top of the coconut trees:

Here is a video of one of the coconut tree climbers:

Besides the sports events the Heiva i Valhi festival also included a number of traditional musical performances:

To compliment the musical performances there were a variety of Tahitian dancers:

Here is a video of one of the dance performances:

The dance performances were the favorite part of the festival for my kids as they tried to mimic the dancers on the stage:

Conclusion

Overall the Heiva i Valhi was a great event with plenty to see and do.  Beside the sports completion and dancing there was a large shopping area where visitors could buy traditional Tahitian wares, clothing, and jewelry.  If in Honolulu at the time of the festival I highly recommend checking it out.