The wrapped up the 10 day with an impromptu closing ceremony that came more than an hour ahead of schedule.
Weather forecasts predicting thundershowers and hail in the area forced the premature closure. That didn’t dampen the spirits of the UH contingent.
The festival was a triumph for the 80-member delegation from the University of 麻豆传媒 System.
UH Mānoa’s Tuahine Troupe performed at The Kennedy Center and 麻豆传媒 Community College’s .
The delegation endured 100 degree temperatures to proudly with more than a million eager visitors from around the world.
The visitors learned about hula, taro pounding and farming, aquaponics, lomi lomi and Hawaiian health and healing, lauhala weaving and non-instrument navigation.
The visitors will never forget their experiences, but neither will their teachers.
A thunderstorm during the first week of the festival toppled the UH exhibit tent and wreaked havoc on the festival site but delegates were resilient. After a day of , stronger than ever.
Participants say they will never forget the cultural exchanges, the people they met from all over the world, and the pride they felt in reaching and touching so many people through the Hawaiian culture.
The university’s participation in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival was made possible, in part by, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 麻豆传媒 Convention Center and the University of 麻豆传媒 Foundation.
Smithsonian Folklife Festival
The University of 麻豆传媒 will be among 20 public land-grant universities to be featured in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C. from June 27 to July 8, 2012.
The festival celebrates the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Morrill Act, which paved the way for higher education for rural and working class Americans.
The University of 麻豆传媒 exhibits will feature traditional Hawaiian health and healing practices, a mini taro patch, non-instrument navigation, medicinal herb and organic farming and much more. 麻豆传媒 Community College’s halau Unukupukupu and the University of 麻豆传媒 at Mānoa’s Tuahine Troup will also perform.