Hula Chicago: Halau I Ka Pono with Kumu June Tanoue

06/11/2026

Join Halau i Ka Pono in person or online on Saturday, August 1st at 3pm for a Hula performance and Silent Auction. If you attend in person, you can also enjoy the Lei Contest and Potluck! All proceeds support Halau i Ka Pono's journey to Honolulu to honor Kumu Pili's 40th anniversary celebration.

The day after Lā Kū'ē (Hawaiian Sovereignty Restoration Day), we gather to make lei, share hula, and celebrate four decades of Kumu Pili Pang's dedication to keeping Hawaiian culture alive and breathing.

🌺 Nā pua - the flowers, the people, the students, the practice.
🌏 Hoʻōmau - to continue, to perpetuate, to tend and sustain.
💫 Ke ea - sovereignty, breath, rising, life force.

As long as we tend to our collective responsibilities - making lei, dancing hula, gathering in community - we continue to rise, to breathe, to enact sovereignty for our past and future ancestors. Lei and hula are evidence: we are still here.

🪷https://halauikapono.org/augustfundraiser

06/08/2026

Mahalo nui to the Village of Oak Park for the opportunity to share hula at A Day in Our Village!

06/01/2026

The precious connections that connect us https://conta.cc/4efchgh

Email from Halau I Ka Pono   Peonies, Chicago Botanic Garden All encounters and partings we have experienced have brought us to this very moment. This is Goen, the precious connections that sustains

05/29/2026

Our first lei-making workshop, led by Alana Smutz, was received so well that Halau i Ka Pono is excited to offer another opportunity to create a beautiful lei! Join us in person or online, July 3, 2-5pm. $35 for in-person, $30 early bird by June 15 or online. We hope to see you! 🌺

05/19/2026

Continue the May celebration with the annual Kapwa! Together We Thrive on Saturday, May 30th in Oak Park! Join the community for artistic performances, food & kid-friendly activities, along with a book give-away! Halau I Ka Pono will perform, too. 🌺

05/01/2026

The land is a chief; man is its servant. https://conta.cc/4tinS2I

Email from Halau I Ka Pono   Trillium, Morton Arboretum "He aliʻi ka ʻāina; he kauwā ke kanaka." The land is a chief; man is its servant. ‘Olelo No’eau, #531 To walk through Morton Arboretum in spring

04/06/2026

Carried and Clear: The Sacred Dance https://conta.cc/3O1UCP6

Email from Halau I Ka Pono   Spring Plum Blossoms Oak Park, Illinois  Carried and Clear: The Sacred Dance The vernal equinox has arrived with its promise of spring and more light in our lives. The pl

04/01/2026

Carried and Clear: The Sacred Dance https://conta.cc/4tjhM2a

03/24/2026

With the floods impacting communities on the North Shore of Oahu, please consider donating to the many people and orgs doing what they can to help. Links in comments provided by and 🌺

03/19/2026

Join Alana Smutz and experienced lei-makers from Halau i Ka Pono on May 9th, 2-5pm, who will guide you through traditional techniques as you create a fresh flower head lei to give (or keep!) for Mother's Day weekend. No experience necessary - all materials provided, beginners welcome. Early bird registration ($30) by April 16. Tickets available: https://halauikapono.org/events/leiworkshop