Hawaii Club will host annual luau during Mom’s Weekend

Student group celebrates 34 years of event; guests will enjoy traditional dances, food, Hawaiian culture

Dancers+perform+at+Hawaii+Club%E2%80%99s+annual+luau+during+Mom%E2%80%99s+Weekend+last+April+in+the+Student+Recreation+Center.+Several+different+types+of+traditional+dances+will+be+showcased+at+the+event+on+Saturday%2C+including+Hula+and+Tahitian.+

COURTESY OF WSU HAWAII CLUB

Dancers perform at Hawaii Club’s annual luau during Mom’s Weekend last April in the Student Recreation Center. Several different types of traditional dances will be showcased at the event on Saturday, including Hula and Tahitian.

CARSON HOLLAND, Evergreen columnist

The WSU Hawaii Club is hosting its annual Mom’s Weekend luau from 3-6 p.m. Saturday at the Student Recreation Center, where guests will be treated to various types of traditional dances and a Hawaiian style meal.

The student group has hosted a luau each Mom’s Weekend for 34 years straight. The event is a large part of the festivities that go on during Mom’s Weekend.

“It is a performance highlighting Hawaiian culture, involving performances, cuisine and moms, of course,” said Cabinet Member Kristine Horita, a sophomore mechanical engineering major. “Anyone is welcome, you just need to get a ticket.”

The event will showcase Hula and Tahitian dance forms, all the while giving guests a taste of a traditional Hawaiian style meal that is included in the cost of a ticket.

“It gives them a feel for the Hawaiian culture,” said Arron Borja, a freshman digital technology and culture major who is also a dancer in the luau. “I hope that people take home or learn something important about Hawaiian culture from the luau.”

Borja said that the dancers have been practicing for many hours, starting a few months ago, to get the dances down.

“For me as a dancer, the best part is doing the dance. It gives me a sense of family,” Borja said. “And it also gives me a feeling of being home away from home.”

Event organizers hope to show guests what Hawaii is like through the dancing and this year’s theme, “We Bring Our Home to You,” Horita said.

“I hope that they think of Hawaii the way we think of it, as another home for us,” Horita said.

The luau will be held in the Student Recreation Center on courts six and seven. Tickets can be purchased at the door at 2:30 p.m. The cost is $20 for students and $22 for the general public.

Tickets are also available for purchase from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Hawaii Club booth in the CUB.

“It is always good to go out of your comfort zone and try something new,” Horita said. “I hope they feel some of our culture and some of what they love in our performance.”