www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv00KHpJpdg

May Night queen Amber Anuhea Ah Sue and king Pololu Silva, and their court, received lei from proud parents, performed their respective hula and presided over the proceedings, while "Da Bruddahs" comic duo provided emcee antics and commentary that cracked up the audience. In short, it was a fun and entertaining evening:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQZ5ZMrBpeo

If you cannot see the video window above in your web browser,
please click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQZ5ZMrBpeo

Five other groups took the PCC stage on Kahuku High's May Night evening, including:

Hawaii

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwK0xNmHA8c

If you cannot see the video window above in your web browser,
please click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwK0xNmHA8c

 Tonga

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmrsJzRZvdQ

If you cannot see the video window above, please click on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmrsJzRZvdQ

Fiji

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQM1J_xEfaE

If you can't see the video window above, please click on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQM1J_xEfaE

Tahiti

www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9IKHp0jW2c

If you can't see the video window above, please go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9IKHp0jW2c

Maori

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ2AHAxjIYo

If you can't see a video window above, please click on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ2AHAxjIYo

— Videos by Mike Foley

Other 2010 special events at the PCC include:

•  May 13-15, 2010, Samoa Festival: 18th annual World Fireknife Championship and Samoan Cultural High School Arts Festival
• July 10, 2010, Tamarii Tahitian Fete: The 10th annual Te Mahana Hiroa o Tahiti children's Tahitian dance competition.
• August 2010, Te Manahua Maori Festival: Celebrating traditional Maori song and dance.
• October 2010, Haunted Lagoon: The third annual Haunted Lagoon will be even better than 2009's spectacular event.

The upcoming Moanikeala Hula Festival honors the Polynesian Cultural Center's first kumu hula, Aunty Sally Wood Naluai. It has evolved from a keiki hula competition into an exhibition of hula which draws schools from throughout Hawaii and Japan.

For more information on this and the other PCC special events, go to http://www.polynesia.com, or call 808-293-3333.

From November 16 to December 31, 2009, kamaaina with a valid Hawaii ID can purchase tickets to the PCC's new  night show, Hä: Breath of Life, for $25 and eat at The Gateway dinner buffet for free.

"The Kamaaina Holiday Special is our way of saying thanks to all the kamaaina that have supported us over the years," said Ray Magalei of Laie, PCC Director of Marketing. "With the recent launch of Hä: Breath of Life, now is a great time for Hawaii residents to rediscover the Polynesian Cultural Center. We encourage kamaaina to spend the evening at PCC with their ohana to experience our new evening show, and dine with us for free."

Hä: Breath of Life debuted to a standing ovation in the redesigned Pacific Theater this past summer and has been receiving rave reviews from locals and visitors alike ever since.

The PCC's Kamaaina Holiday Special offer is limited to only one ticket per ID, per day, and the discount cannot be combined with any other specials or offers. For more information, on Oahu call 293-333, from the neighbor islands or U.S. mainland call tollfree 1-800-367-7060, or go to the PCC's web site at www.polynesia.com.

That night the PCC invited media, travel industry people and about 200 school children to an updated version of last year's successful Halloween-island-style event…and based on initial reaction, within moments of leaving the canoe landing, everyone was nervously looking over their shoulders, wondering where the next fright was coming from. In fact, the anxiety level held up right to the end of the approximately 25-30-minute ride, with everybody half-expecting one more scare right up to the moment the canoe docked.

Some of the lucky school kids who previewed the PCC's
Haunted Lagoon 2009

For example, the lady sitting next to me — who I didn't know — involuntarily grabbed my arm a couple of times during several particularly scary moments. Of course, there was lots of screaming from every canoe…marked by moments of tense anticipation in between eerie tableaus and unnerving encounters in the dark of the Center's lagoon.

For me, it was a fantastic experience; but starting October 2, everyone can decide for themselves…

Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
throughout October 2009: 6:30 – 9 p.m.
http://www.hauntedlagoon.com for more info

She's back: Haunted Lagoon 2009 is themed around the story of the Laie Lady, whose ghost appears a number of times: Without giving too much away, think of the frightening, jerky apparition in The Ring, flavored with a good dose of old Vincent Price horror movie effects — as well as some modern updates, such as a chain-saw incident and some 10-foot-tall monsters…plus, "she's not alone," said PCC events specialist and imagineer William Mahoni of Laie, a Tongan-Maori artist originally from New Zealand.

"We've taken the Laie Lady, who we found was the most feared character from last year's Haunted Lagoon, and built this year's entire event around her," he said. Our creative team came up with a story — the 'Legend of the Laie Lady' — to bring all the characters into play."

In that story which starts over 200 years ago, Mahoni explained, the family of a young Hawaiian woman, Nalani, who fell in love with a visiting sailor, beats the man severely. The couple flees to Laie where Nalani discovers she is pregnant and the sailor soon dies from his injuries. She plants a special coconut tree by the side of a river to mark his grave. After her son is born, she becomes very reclusive, and one day her son goes missing, leaving only toys near the riverbanks. Over the ensuing years, Nalani becomes even more eccentric, wandering the riverbank and calling out for her family.

"As you enter the lagoon on the ride, you're trespassing on her search for the little boy," Mahoni continued. "The twisting shape of the kapakahi coconut tree symbolically represents her difficult life; and this legend gives us the opportunity to bring in additional creatures. We're also really excited to use animatronics for three of them as well as three puppets that tower at least 9-11 feet in height. They're incredible."

"These new characters will go along with the others from last year, which have been tweaked, plus we also have additional sound and lighting effects this year. All these together will make this year's event one of the most incredible haunted experiences in the country."

As you might expect, such preparations have been going on for some time, with hundreds of volunteers from BYU–Hawaii and the community participating.

"Last year we did the Haunted Lagoon for one week, and we didn't expect the outstanding response we got from the community," said Raymond Magalei, PCC Director of Marketing. "Since then, everybody had been telling us how much fun they had and asking us if we're going to do it again. Our Haunted Lagoon ride is something you can't get anywhere else, so we've extended it for a longer period of time."

Magalei pointed out that:

• The cost for kamaaina [with Hawaii ID] is $15 for adults (ages 16-and-up), $10 for children (5-15) for each trip.
• The cost for non-kamaaina is $25 per ride.
• "All PCC Kamaaina Annual Pass members [with Hawaii ID] can get one free Haunted Lagoon trip per night." Subsequent rides on the same night are charged at the regular kamaaina rate.
• The PCC and Pepsi are co-sponsoring a "Pepsi's Haunted Wednesdays": "It's $5 off if you bring a Pepsi can," Magalei said.
• The PCC also has "special offer" Haunted Lagoon promotions with key partners, including 7-Eleven Stores, Pepsi, 76 Stations and Price Busters.
• Those who don't want to wait in line can purchase a kamaaina "fast pass" upgrade: $30 for adults, $20 for kids.

"With the amount of people we expect, we're planning for as many as 70 canoe rides a night and looking at having over 100 people involved in the lagoon area, not including the canoe pushers and other support staff," Mahoni said.

"There are a lot of great things we do every year, but the Haunted Lagoon is definitely one that everybody's looking forward to. If you don't come, you'll regret missing out on a special experience. It's one you'll not see in any other location in Hawaii."

"This hana hou [reprise] of last year's surprise success in family-oriented entertainment is a great community event, and we love doing this type of thing," Magalei agreed. "A lot of kamaaina have not been here since their fourth grade field trip, so for them to come back is a great experience; and it's wonderful for us to have so many of our community members together, having a good time with us. It's going to be fun…and ultra-scary."

As for me, I give the whole experience two thumbs up: It was terrific. One hint: You might get a little wet; and finally, I definitely had a feeling that I should go again, because I couldn't possibly see everything in just one ride.

— By Mike Foley

When the evening was over, a panel of judges selected nine semifinalists who will compete for three top spots tonight, May 15. The nine semifinalists are:

•  Jeurell Lavata'i, Pago Pago, American Samoa
• Dana Teai, Faaa, Tahiti
• Pati Levasa, who previously won the event four times, from Samoa by way of the Hong Kong Disneyland where he's currently performing
• Brandon "Fue" Maneafaiga, Waianae, Oahu
• Joseph Cadousteau, Papeete, Tahiti
• Mikaele Oloa, formerly of Orlando, Florida, and now living in Waialua, Oahu, who several years ago as a 15-year-old junior jumped into the senior division and won the next two world championship titles
• Lopeti Tu'ua, Lahina, Maui
• Viavia "VJ" Tiumalu Jr., from Orlando, Florida, and the 2008 world champion, who followed Oloa's lead by jumping his age group into the senior competition
• Chesrveigh "Jessie" Usiel, a Pohnpeian who lives in Harmon, Guam

Congratulations to all of them. Photos of them can be found on my blog at:
http://nanilaie.info/?p=362

More information on them can be found at:
http://www.polynesia.com/fireknife/competitors.html

Also, check out the PCC's new special events blog, including videos of all the competitors at http://polynesia.com/blog