California Lutheran University Kupaโa Hawaii Club hosted its annual luau on Thursday, April 18.ย
The event featured music from student band The Pots n Pans, traditional hula performances from club members, traditional Hawaiian luau foods, and a final performance by professional Hawaiian band Natural Vibrations. Raffle prizes from Hawaiian companies such as Crazy Shirts, ABC Stories, and Aloha were also given out.ย
Kupaโa Hawaii Club president Sophia Saiki spoke on how important Hawaiian culture is to club members, and how important sharing this culture with others.ย
โThe luau, I feel like, is about sharing our Hawaii culture with other people. Because I feel like we take a lot of pride in our culture, so just being able to share it with others, especially people not from Hawaii, means a lot to us. We have a lot of pride about where we come from,โ Saiki said.ย
Additionally, junior Noeloni Ramiscal emphasized how important this exposure to Hawaiian culture is on campus.ย
โI think it’s just the whole exposure of culture to the community here at school. It’s a good way for all the students of similar backgrounds to come together and bond, essentially,โ Ramiscal said.ย
Community member Elizabeth Momiani Awa, who attended the event with her son, expressed how positive of an event this year’s luau was.ย
โOh, it’s amazing. It brings the community together. Music, food, the culture, all the aloha,” Momiani Awa said. “It brings the community together and it brings out positive vibrations. I think that’s the beautiful thing.”
