Polynesian Cultural Center

We arrived at the PCC about noon and left at 9 pm. We were on an Ambassador Tour, so we had a guide to help us get the most of our time there. This is an awesome place and I highly recommend it. It is owned by the Mormons and staffed almost entirely by students working their way through school at the nearby Brigham Young University. They did a small amount of marketing but I never felt pressured.  A wholesome family friendly feeling filled the place and I had a great time there. The weather turned off hot, so we drank lots of water. We were exhausted when we left!

This is our tour guide, a happy Korean student named Bon. He worked very hard to help us have fun. His English wasn't easy to understand but his attitude more than made up for it.

        Entry to the villages and activities.

Pineapple umbrella drinks sans alcohol.

Ricky sporting a kukui nut lei (traditionally reserved for royalty, so he felt muy especiale.)

We enjoyed the Canoe Parade. Dancers from the different villages performed while floating down the man made waterway. I believe these in yellow were from Tahiti.

The dancers in green were from Aotearoa, otherwise known as New Zealand.

These in hot pink hailed from Samoa.

This was an interesting group from Tonga. They danced fiercely. The men had a stripe painted diagonally down their faces and they carried big sticks shaped like bones.

This is taro plant. It is used to make poi, a Hawaiian staple. It is purple and made by pounding the root of the plant. I found it to be the consistency of wallpaper paste and just as tasty. Yuck!

This is a noni tree. The fruit is used for various types of healing.

We watched this dance in the Aotearoa village. The men were very fierce, yelling and pounding their chests while stomping their feet. They opened their eyes extremely wide and stuck out their tongues to mimic the carvings that decorated their building. Pretty scary! He looks like his eyes are going to pop out of his head!

The women performed with poi balls. Not a food, but a ball on a string. A nod here to my son-in-law, Tanner, who first introduced me to the skill of poi.

We really enjoyed this performance in Tonga. This talented dude is playing a nose flute. I mean, who knew there was such a thing?! They believe air from the nose is purer than from the mouth. I can think of some problems with that concept, but oh well, who am I to question this fun and interesting musical practice.

Blowing the conch shell.

This warrior was very entertaining. He got some volunteers from the audience and the results were hilarious! 

                       Entrance to our luau.

We got lei-d.

A whole pig was roasted in a pit and brought out for the feast. He looked very sad.

Hawaiian royalty presented for our luau.

Classically beautiful Hawaiian hula dancer.

More hula dancers.

This young dancer looked about 7 years old. Adorable!

This fire dancer is a young prodigy from Samoa. He is 14 years old and his performance was flawless.

The performance seemed to go on and on.

That's me learning a few hula steps!

I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the evening  performance, Ha: Breath of Life. No photography was allowed so I have no pictures.  The students and actors gave a very professional performance.  I was so impressed. The plot was very similar to Lion King and highlighted dances from the different islands. It was really a treat!