The beloved Merrie Monarch Festival would be celebrating its concluding competition night tonight, if it had not been cancelled because of COVID-19.  Executive Director Luana Kawelu,  who followed in the footsteps of her Mom, Dottie Thompson, in leading the festival, would be participating in the awards ceremony following the hula ‘auana.  In watching this video of the 2019 winners, let’s turn our thoughts away for a few minutes from COVID-19  to 2021 and what we hope is the joyful return of this revered and renowned hula competition, named in honor of the Merrie Monarch, King David Kalakaua.