Waikiki Beach Walk(R) to be the Center of Hawaiian Music and Entertainment in 2008

WAIKIKI, HONOLULU, HAWAII – Outrigger Enterprises Group, along with the Hawaiian
Music Hall of Fame, has unveiled at Waikiki Beach Walk Hawaii’s first exhibit
honoring Hawaii’s most influential musicians.

The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame exhibit marks the second historical music display for
Waikiki Beach Walk’s signature Hawaiian Heritage music program – Na Mele No Na Pua,
Music for the Generations. The program is a collaborative effort between Outrigger
Enterprises Group, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame and the Hawaii Academy of
Recording Arts. Na Mele No Na Pua launched in April 2007 and has resulted in an
exciting, multi-faceted music program.

The highly successful program offers several free elements for visitors and residents
to enjoy: a historical exhibit showing the timeline of Hawaii’s rich musical history,
a monthly schedule of live performances, and special educational and cultural events
aimed to preserve, protect and perpetuate Hawaii’s music. Additionally, guests can
dine and relax at the Outrigger Reef’s Shorebird Restaurant to enjoy entertainment by
contemporary Hawaiian music and steel guitar artists.

“Originally, this program was planned with a monthly concert series, but with such an
overwhelming response and impressive visitor and resident attendance, we are adding
new performance elements to the program for 2008,” said Eric Masutomi, vice president
of planning for Outrigger Enterprises Group. “In the past, Waikiki was the center of
Hawaiian music and entertainment in Hawaii. Our goal with this program is to bring
back authentic Hawaiian culture and music to Waikiki.”

Located on the first level of Waikiki Beach Walk along the mauka corridor, leading to
Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk’s porte cochere, the new Hawaiian Music Hall of
Fame glass-encased display pays tribute to inductees of the Hawaiian Music Hall of
Fame – composers, singers and performers of Hawaiian music.

“We’re grateful to Outrigger for taking this exciting step to make Hawaiian culture
even more accessible to local residents and visitors in Waikiki,” said James “Kimo”
M.K. Stone, president of the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. “Outrigger is making a
tremendous contribution to commemorate Hawaiian music’s historical significance,
while acknowledging the composers and performers that helped to create this island
tradition.”

Since the program’s launch last year, the Na Mele No Na Pua concert series has
featured a number of Hawaii’s award-winning entertainers, including Eddie Kamae & The
Sons of Hawaii, Aunty Genoa Keawe, Raiatea Helm, Amy Hanaialii Gilliom, many of whom
are 2007 Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame inductees.

The 2008 program for Na Mele No Na Pua includes the following elements:

Two Permanent Exhibits of Hawaii’s Music Heritage

Along the makai (ocean) corridor of the Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk Hula
Tower, a 50 foot long, glass-encased timeline of Hawaiian music takes viewers from
the days when Polynesians first arrived in Hawaii to the current time. The exhibit
shows the evolution of Hawaiian music, its impact on the islands’ culture and
features the Hawaiian nose flute, the introduction of the ukulele and other
artifacts.

The second exhibit, located along the mauka (mountain) corridor of the Embassy
Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk, leading from the hotel’s porte cochere to the open air
plaza of Waikiki Beach Walk, pays tribute to Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame musicians,
composers and other honorees. Two panels of the exhibit will be replaced each year to
make room for new inductees.

Live Performances

Beginning Sunday, April 6, Na Mele No Na Pua will present a weekly “Sunday Showcase”
at the Waikiki Beach Walk Plaza Stage from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. This free program will
feature popular island musicians and groups, up-and-coming local performers, hula
halau, and more – all showcasing the diverse talent that can be found in our island
home. Specific performers will be announced in the coming weeks and months.

Continuing throughout 2008 is the weekly program Ku Ha’aheo, “To Cherish with Pride,”
held every Tuesday afternoon from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Waikiki Beach Walk Plaza
Stage. Led by kumu hula and cultural advisor Blaine Kamalani Kia, the weekly
performance features both adult and keiki (children) hula dancers in a unique
blending of contemporary and traditional elements focusing on island traditions,
cultural beliefs, classic hapa haole tunes and historical moments in Hawaii, all told
through song and dance.

Na Mele No Na Pua Signature Concerts

The program’s signature concerts will continue to be staged on the fourth floor Grand
Lanai of Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk and will feature renowned Hawaiian
musicians with performers to be announced in the coming months. Performance times
will remain from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. However, beginning in April, the concerts will
shift to a bi-monthly schedule with concerts held on the final Sunday of the
scheduled month. Thus, concert dates for the rest of 2008 are:

Saturday, March 29 – featuring Willie K
Sunday, April 27
Sunday, June 29
Sunday, August 31
Sunday, October 26
Sunday, December 28 (special pre-Christmas concert)

Educational Opportunities and Special Events

Na Mele No Na Pua hosts ongoing events to preserve, protect and perpetuate Hawaii’s
music, including CD release parties and CD signings by Hawaiian musicians, ceremonies
for artists being recognized by the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame and the Hawaii
Academy of Recording Arts, among other activities. These events will also be open to
both visitors and local residents.

The Na Mele No Na Pua program began as an idea to create a “Preservation Hall” for
Hawaiian music and is another great reason for visitors to come to Hawaii, residents
to come into Waikiki and for everyone to enjoy the legendary aloha spirit of Hawaiian
music and dance and experience the islands’ unique host culture – at its finest.

Musical Weekends at the Outrigger Reef

One weekend a month is being informally dubbed as “music weekend” at the Outrigger
Reef on the Beach. Kicking it off is the Aloha Friday Luncheon, a popular attraction
among local residents and visitors alike.

Hosted by Hawaiian music radio station KINE, the luncheon is offered at the
oceanfront Shore Bird Restaurant and Beach Bar. Attendees can enjoy views of
legendary Waikiki Beach, mouth-watering Hawaiian food, and live entertainment by many
of Hawaii’s hottest contemporary musicians. At $24 per adult and $14 for children
under 12 years old, the cost makes the luncheon one of the most reasonable
entertainment experiences in Waikiki.

“Aloha Friday Luncheons are as much for residents as they are for our visiting
guests,” said Alan Yamamoto of KINE Radio. “Ono (delicious) local-style food, great
Hawaiian music, and an awesome location like the Shore Bird, right on the sands of
Waikiki Beach — exactly the way we like to kick back and relax in Hawaii.”

Just 48 hours later, Outrigger Reef guests can listen to live Hawaiian steel guitar
music at the hotel’s monthly Steel Guitar Sunday — a backyard style event filled
with music, chatting and fun.

Starting at 2 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month at the Shore Bird Restaurant,
Steel Guitar Sunday features music by some of Hawaii’s finest steel guitarists
including Alan Akaka, Greg Sardinha, Bobby Ingano and Casey Olsen. Other steel
guitarists are invited to bring their instruments and jam with the featured
performers on Waikiki Beach.

Upcoming Aloha Friday Luncheons and Steel Guitar Sundays include: March 7 and 9,
April 11 and 13, May 9 and 11, June 6 and 8, July 11 and 13, August 8 and 10,
September 12 and 14, October 10 and 12, and November 7 and 9.

For more information and reservations for either of these Outrigger Reef events, call
the Shore Bird Restaurant at 808-922-2887.

February 29, 2008   Posted in: Hawaii