Aloha mai kākou,

40. We are forty years old this year. I feel like I blinked and forty years flew by. What a marvel it has been. This world according to hula. The unimaginable made tangible. A MacArthur Fellow whoʻs now an older fellow. Never crossed my mind Iʻd be either and here I am. I saw so many of you at KUPUKUPU, and again I am reminded of how love and generosity takes shape. It takes shape in your attendance, year after year (yes, I see you), and the exuberant way you go out of your way to say how much you enjoyed yourself. Your words, your unwavering support make forty feel like twenty. So Iʻm ready for another twenty years.

I hope you are too. Mahalo for being the most generous supporters a hula school could ask for. 40, letʻs go! See you there!!

Me ke aloha pau’ole,

Patrick Makuakāne
Director/Kumu Hula