The Polynesian Cultural Center
The Polynesian Cultural Center is run by the Mormon church in Hawai'i. Most of the people who work here are students, and they really come from the island they represent. It's an awesome experience and a really nice place to spend the day. They had a night show that was AWESOME, but they wouldn't let us take flash pictures, and since it was dark, we couldn't take very many, and none came out very good.
And again, I got lei'd... But this time by a much cuter guy and with a shell lei!
This was the start of the Canoe Pagent. It showed off the different dances from all the cultures represented at the center.
First came Tahiti. You could practically see everyone's jaws drop when they saw how fast that girl can hula!
Again, the Tahitian dancers...
Next came Aotearoa, or New Zealand. They are the people that have those poi balls that you spin and usually hit yourself in the head with. These people had really weird facial makeup that made them look somewhat scary.
They also had these cool neon sticks that they tossed and made music with!
I think somewhere in that crowd of people on the back wall is the guy that fell into the river just before the pagent...
Next came Hawai'i, and it totally justifies that old belief that the ancient Hawai'ians wore grass skirts.
I think the people were still in shock at the hulaing that Tahitian chick did...
Then came the people who Really wear grass skirts... All the way from the Marquesas.
These guys are from Tonga. They're AWESOME. They are the biggest jokers, and they are all DRUMMERS. After the parade, we went to the area that represents Tonga, and they had a drum demonstration. I was in Heaven. Then I got mad at them because they asked for audience participation, but they had to follow their old beliefs, and wouldn't let women or children play the drums. It really sucked.
As sad as it is, no one really paid attention to the girls... We were all entertained by the guys.
Finally, the people from Samoa. They are huge! One of our tour guides earlier on was Samoan. His name was also "Big Steve" (like my dads.) But, he demoted my dad to "Tiny."
The Samoans I guess made it their goal to knock their rower off the boat! And they suceeded!!
This was a Samoan guy later on who decided to show his climbing abilities.
Dang, that's a big tree!! He was going to jump to the next tree, but he chickened out. The funniest part was when he got all the way to the top, he kinda just hung there and wouldn't come down for a bit.
This was out lu'au feast. It was pretty awesome. There was music and food (though no caffinated beverages!! Darn you Mormens!) They had these awesome purple rolls that were SO sweet! And, they also had poi... *GAGS*.
Hehe.. this was dinner. It was actually really good!! (The poi was still nasty.) They also had a bunch of deserts, including coconut Jell-o. That just tasted weird...
