Year 28 of E Kanikapila Kakou saw audiences welcome 220 Hawaiian music composers, performers and entertainers for 11 Monday nights, each night with its own energy and charm, filled with storytelling, humorous anecdotes and awesome talent.

This season had as its theme Hula and Harmony. Annually, a theme is struck when three collaborative organizations put their heads together and play off one another. The Garden Island Arts Council does that really well with both the Malie Foundation and the Kaua‘i Music Festival. With its focus on composing music for film and TV this year, Hollywood was a natural piece for KMF to bring to the table.

And having attended EKK over the season, you have to admit there’s a hint of Hollywood in some of our dear presenters. Authentic, Hawaiian, loads of harmony, and yes, a bit of “Hollywood” gets thrown in there as well, but even so, EKK left Hollywood to the KMF and the musicians and went with simply Hula and Harmony.

From a long-ago rainy night in 1984 with an audience you could count on two hands, to the 28th season in the Jasmine Ballroom of the Kaua‘i Beach Resort where this season EKK welcomed  5,263 attendees, the excellence of the E Kanikapila Kakou program of the Garden Island Arts Council has more than proven itself. It’s become a “find” that people continue to discover and that some visitors peg as the focal point of their trips. Success can’t spoil the authenticity of this beloved program.

In photos on these pages, we share with you yet another wrap. See you next season!