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Groups promoting what they characterize as an expression of authentic Hawaiian culture are fighting for the right to stage commercial luaus and entertainment shows in places where such business ventures are prohibited. 

I am talking about the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s plan to produce a year-round commercial luau five nights a week in the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell.

Also, kumu hula in their Pauoa Valley home, for which they now face fines of up to $1,000 a day from the Department of Planning and Permitting for illegally operating a business in a residential neighborhood.

And , which the DPP started fining $1,000 a day on Friday for wrongfully staging a commercial luau on agriculture/preservation land at the Hawaii Country Club in Kunia.

Although to be clear, the Mauka Warriors show portrays itself as a Polynesian review — its video features fire dancers and women in coconut bras — rather than an authentically Hawaiian show. 

The question government and tourism officials are pondering is this: Should there be policy changes to allow an exemption from laws and other restrictions if a group wants to stage commercial luaus to uplift and display authentic Native Hawaiian culture?

City Managing Director Mike Formby said in an email that the mayor is supportive of culturally authentic and respectful events and luaus.

“If he had his way, he would probably look the other way and let them operate,” Formby wrote. However, Formby said, when the mayor took office he swore an oath to uphold Honolulu’s laws.

But some city lawmakers say these kinds of questions are bound to arise with todayʻs emphasis on the regeneration of Hawaiian culture and the need to promote culturally respectful tourism.

“We are at a moment in our community when we are cognizant of the host culture and uplifting it. But how we deal with the issue will depend on the individual council members, whether it matters to them a little or matters a lot,” said Honolulu council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, who is chairman of the Kapiolani Park board of trustees because of his position as head of the council’s Executive Matters And Legal Affairs Committee.

A High-Profile Fight Over Kapiolani Park Use

Kuhio Lewis, CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, said in a phone call that the city is “at a point where culture is colliding with policy.”

Lewis was talking with me Saturday, weeks after an April 2 meeting in which Honolulu council members acting in their other roles as trustees of Kapiolani Park considered CNHA’s proposal to stage the evening Hawaiian luaus in the parkʻs Waikiki Shell. 

The meeting of the park trustees was informational. Although there was no decision-making, some council members openly favored the idea of a regular commercial Hawaiian dinner show in the Shell, especially Native Hawaiian council member Esther Kiaʻaina who .

As park trustees, council members are supposed to uphold a 1988 Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that the city cannot enter into any agreement for the exclusive use of Kapiolani Park and its facilities. The prohibition is there to keep the park open as a free public recreation ground forever.

Alethea Rebman testified against CNHA’s proposal for an evening luau show, calling it a violation of trust and the 1988 court ruling. Rebman is president of the a nonprofit dedicated to upholding the trust and subsequent court rulings to protect the park for public use.

In the meeting, Kiaʻaina characterized Rebman as targeting a worthy Hawaiian enterprise. Kiaʻaina asked Rebman if she respected Hawaiian culture and history and if there were any Native Hawaiians on the board of the society.

Rebman repeatedly explained to council members that the society was not against any particular business but was dedicated to keeping the park from being commandeered by ongoing long-term ventures no matter which person or group wanted to launch an exclusive enterprise.

“We were formed 40 years ago to keep the park free and open to the public,” she said.

Kia‘aina said it angered her to listen to criticism from outsiders telling Hawaiians what to do. In her questioning, Kia‘aina kept asking Rebman what was motivating her.

“I guess in my mind, quite frankly, I’m just wondering, what are you doing this for? So I do — do question your motivation,” she said.

Kia‘aina did not disclose in the meeting that she was a former vice president of CNHA. She ended her questioning of Rebman saying she was saddened by what the preservation society president was doing.

“I’ll just end by just saying, this is just history repeating itself, and I’m just disappointed because you have no aloha,” Kia‘aina said.

The Kapiolani Park Preservation Society is meeting Monday evening to review its options, one of which would be to sue the city. All parties are waiting for the Attorney General to decide if CNHA’s plan to rent the shell for an evening commercial luau on a semi-permanent basis violates the terms of the trust.

The CNHA is not withdrawing its application, though Lewis said the organization is regrouping and looking for an option that would be less intrusive.

Lewis said they are considering options such as finding another place to have the evening luau show or taking it to other islands on a touring basis. Or to have it in the Shell on rotating nights or operating during particular months like the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra does with its summer concerts in the facility.

He said he was surprised and caught off guard by the public reaction to CNHAʻs proposal for a commercial Hawaiian dinner show in the Shell.

 “I thought it would be embraced for presenting the best of Hawaiian hula and the best of Hawaiian music,” he said. “We donʻt want to cloud our concept with controversy. We need to look at what is possible.”

He said CNHA has cut the free Kilohana morning hula show from five days a week to four to reduce the $130,000 a month he says it costs to stage the show.

Southwest Airlines is but Lewis says thatʻs only enough to support it for about two months.

Lewis says the challenge is finding a way to support the free show with a money-making business that meets the terms of the Kapiolani Park trust.

“I respect the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society. If it did not exist, there would be commercial buildings all over Kapiolani Park. It is a matter of finding a sweet spot on which we can agree,” he said.

Risking Big Fines

Kumu hula Baker is also looking for a “sweet spot” to get the city to allow his luau dinner show to continue, even though city zoning law prohibits such commercial businesses in residential neighborhoods.

On Feb. 29, the city Department of Planning and Permitting issued Baker and fellow kumu hula and business partner Casupang a Notice of Violation giving them a month to stop the luaus or face fines of up to $1,000 a day. 

That deadline has come and gone and Baker and Casupang are still hosting their Queenʻs Aloha Luau at their Pauoa Valley home every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The DPP has not yet imposed the fine.

Baker says they are continuing to do business while they wait for DPP to meet with them to try and work out a way for them to continue the luau. 

“There is no model for what we are doing. We are like a round peg trying to fit into a square hole. We need to do is shave the round peg so it can go into the hole to make this work. How can anyone in their right mind not allow us to do the luau? They should make an exception,” he said.

But wouldnʻt other cultural groups be asking for similar exceptions for their authentic shows? I asked.

“I would tell them to go for it,” he said.

Baker and Casupang have been conducting hula classes at 394 Auwaiolimu St. since they bought the property 20 years ago. Their Halau I Ka Wekiu has won numerous awards in the Merrie Monarch Festival and at hula competitions on different islands. Casupang is the kumu hula at Mid-Pacific Institute. 

The dancers from the halau perform at the luau, which Baker says allows young people in college to make extra money and eases the financial situation of other dancers working two and three jobs to support their families. At the same time, their performances keep them engaged in Hawaiian culture.

“Our visitors are so hungry for what is truly Hawaiian. They are seeing authentic dancing and music here in a beautiful outdoor setting. There is nothing like it in Waikiki. The fire dancing and Polynesian reviews there today are a travesty,” he said.

The cost for the luau ranges from $169 to $219 a person. Visitors come in their own cars, parking along the Chinese graveyard across the street from the house.

Although the entertainment is authentically Hawaiian the dinner is not. The food is from the catering arm of Zippys and includes dishes such as teriyaki steak, fruit salad, rice and chocolate dobash cake.

“Thatʻs so we donʻt waste food. Most people taste a few bites of Hawaiian food and then donʻt finish it. We would have to throw it away,” he said.

Baker says the few neighbors who live close to the property have not complained.

“I have to believe Akua (God) is on our side and we will prevail,” he said.

Lewis says in many ways his quest for permission to launch a commercial Hawaiian show in the Waikiki Shell is similar to Bakerʻs efforts to find a new way to proceed with his luau. 

“We are challenging the status quo,” Lewis said. “Something better might come of it.”