Day 3 ~ Monday, May 21st
The Polynesian Culture Center
The Polynesian Cultural Center is directly attached to the Brigham Young University of Hawaii. The Center tour guides are students at BYU and make no bones about thanking people for coming to visit. Most of the money is for the students to attend college there gratis. Well, they do work at the Center but it seems like a great trade-off. A student does not have to worry about paying-off student loans after graduation. One nice thing: If you are of Polynesian descent then you don’t have to pay for post-college studies either. What a deal!
Our driver to the Center, we found out from spotting him next to a mural, is a post-graduate student and famous performer. Being asked about the likeness on the mural he humbly said, “It’s my twin.” Not true.
The Polynesian Cultural Center is dividing into separate villages to feature their specific heritage. They are Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), and New Zealand. Every day at 2:30 p.m. the Center holds a one of a kind pageant on the water. Each island puts on a beautiful representation of their dance and music on large, platform canoes. Check out the movie below to see some of the dancing and singing.
Throughout the Center there are shows and educational attractions to attend. However we believe that they save the best for last: The “HA:~Breath of Life” Show. Fire batons, choreographed dancing, a compete play…and we were not allowed to photograph. So, you’ll have to go see for yourselves.
