Maui's premier youth hula competition is leaving its longtime beachfront home this fall. The 34th annual Hula O Nā Keiki will take place Oct. 9-10, 2026, at Kamehameha Schools Maui in Upcountry Pukalani, moving the event out of the resort ballrooms of Kāʻanapali for the first time in more than three decades.
Outrigger Kāʻanapali Beach Resort is inviting residents and visitors to experience the competition at its new setting, according to Maui Now. The resort has hosted the event as a signature program for more than three decades, and this year's competition will be staged inside Kamehameha Maui's Keōpūolani Hale auditorium, with performances livestreamed for audiences around the world.
A Bigger Stage for a Growing Tradition
Edwin Torres said moving the event to Kamehameha Schools Maui will allow more guests to attend, per the same account. The shift reflects a practical reality: the competition had long outgrown hotel ballroom capacity in Kāʻanapali, and the Pukalani campus offers a larger venue better suited to a program that has become Maui's only keiki hula competition, according to the report.
Kamehameha Schools Maui itself has deep roots in the area. The school opened in August 1996 in temporary residential homes in Pukalani with just 80 students before establishing its permanent 180-acre campus in 1999, according to Kamehameha Schools. The campus, built on the slopes of Haleakalā to expand Native Hawaiian educational access beyond Oʻahu, now serves more than 1,100 K-12 students.
Roots Going Back to 1990
Hula O Nā Keiki was established in 1990 by Anthony “Akoni” Akana and Kanoʻeau Delatori at the Kāʻanapali Beach Hotel, according to Hawaii Public Radio. The competition was designed to prepare young dancers ages 5 to 17 for higher-level hula competitions while preserving Native Hawaiian traditions, with Akana serving as a prominent cultural director at the hotel who co-founded several local Hawaiian heritage programs.
The host property has changed hands since then. Outrigger Hospitality Group acquired the 11-acre, 432-room Kāʻanapali Beach Hotel in July 2023, rebranding it as OUTRIGGER Kāʻanapali Beach Resort following a $75 million pandemic-era renovation, per Hotel Business. The property had long been marketed as “Hawaiʻi's Most Hawaiian Hotel.”
What Judges Look For
This year's soloists, ages 6 to 17, will need to demonstrate mastery of both hula kahiko and hula ʻauana, per Maui Now's report. The competition requires contestants to perform both ancient and modern hula, recite a memorized chant in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and complete a private interview with judges covering dance meaning and costume authenticity, according to HAWAII Magazine. The judging panel evaluates language fluency and historical understanding alongside dance technique.
Participants will share the meanings behind their mele and hula, their personal connections to Hawaiian culture, and their reasons for dancing, according to Maui Now. Kahulu de Santos said the young dancers carry forward the teachings of their kumu with humility, discipline and aloha, and added that the event showcases the transmission of knowledge from one generation of kumu to the next.
Prizes Help Offset Travel Costs
Winners will receive cash prizes, with the overall champion earning an enhanced package that includes an inter-island Hawaiian Airlines flight, portrait photography, Cirque du Soleil ʻauana tickets, and a three-night stay at Outrigger Reef Waikīkī Beach Resort, per the report. The overall winner will also have the opportunity to perform at Kani Ka Pila Grille in Waikīkī.
The prize structure was designed with a specific purpose in mind. Competition founders built cash prizes to help participating hālau offset significant out-of-pocket costs for travel, lodging, handmade costumes, and fresh lei adornments when traveling between islands, according to SFGATE. Inter-island travel and costume preparation represent major expenses for neighbor island hālau in particular.
Last Year's Champion and the Field Ahead
At the 33rd annual competition in October 2025, Elizabeth Kamaile Kahailihauwelo Kekahuna of Hālau Keʻalaokamaile, under Nā Kumu Hula Kealiʻi Reichel and Henohea Kāne, was named the overall Miss Hula O Nā Keiki winner, according to Outrigger Resorts. Kekahuna, who won top honors in both the hula kahiko and hula ʻauana categories, said hula is a way to express herself and tell a moʻolelo.
The festival also honors teachers through the Akoni Akana & Kanoeau Delatori Kumu Hula Award, recognizing instructors who demonstrate outstanding cultural guidance in preparing their haumāna. Last year's award went to Nā Kumu Uluwehi Guerrero and Kaui Krueger of Hālau Hula Kauluokalā, who return this year with student Waianu Kaleiomakaliʻi Hall of Maui among the 2026 field, per Maui Now.
In 2024, Luke Hilinaʻikaʻuhanemaikalani Aquino and Khandi Pearl Holi, both representing Hālau o Ka Hanu Lehua under Kumu Hula Kamaka Kūkona, swept the Master and Miss Hula O Nā Keiki overall titles, a rare double sweep noted by Hula O Nā Keiki on Facebook. Hoodline previously reported on the 32nd annual competition when it was still held at the Kāʻanapali resort.
Where Maui Fits Statewide
Oʻahu hosts Hawaiʻi's largest youth hula gathering, the Queen Liliʻuokalani Keiki Hula Competition, which marked its 51st year in July 2026, according to a Hawaiian Council post. That event focuses on group and solo entries statewide, while Hula O Nā Keiki remains Maui's primary competition dedicated specifically to youth soloists.
This year's roster includes dancers from across the islands, among them Isaac Kazuyuki Kauahikaua Woodward of Oʻahu under Ka Pā Hula ʻO Kawaihoʻomalu, Keolaokalani Ah Wong of Oʻahu under Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe, and Laci Jade Kaimuloa Bates of Hawaiʻi Island representing Hālau Kalaʻakeakauikawēkiu. Maui soloists set to compete include Paisley Keira Cabico and Madison Hana Delmore Fukuda of Pukalani Hula Hale, ʻIhikolonahe Sheilo Maxwell of Hālau Keʻalaokamaile, Makalapua Kahula of Hālau Nā Lei Kaumaka O Uka, and Callie Kozuki and June Wu of Hālau Hula O Keola Aliʻiokekai, according to Maui Now's report.
Tickets for the two-day event will go on sale shortly, per the same account. Organizers say the competition continues to give young people a platform to share their artistry, ʻike, stories and cultural connections with audiences both on Maui and, through the livestream, around the world.
