The scent of sweet kettle corn filled the air. Ukulele melodies and drum beats echoed through downtown Vancouver. And a sea of colorful skirts and Hawaiian-print shirts covered Esther Short Park.

Hundreds of people sat in camping chairs and huddled on blankets to watch hula dancers glide across the stage. Hundreds more walked through the park, making stops at vendors like Hawaiian Shave Ice and Maui Wow for cool treats, and various others offering grilled Hawaiian cuisine.

What kind of people flocked to the downtown Vancouver park Saturday afternoon for the annual Ho`ike and Hawaiian Festival?

“The crowd is very full of the Aloha spirit,” said Heidi Coleman, a Eugene, Ore., resident.

Coleman and her friend Valeri Love both grew up in Kailua, Oahu, but didn’t meet until they lived in Eugene. Both women hula dance and came to Saturday’s event to support their hula brothers and sisters in the Northwest. People from the Hawaiian community travel from all over the region to attend events like the Ho`ike and Hawaiian Festival and a similar event in Roseburg, Ore., in late August.

“The festival has brought so many cultures together,” Coleman said. “The diversity of the crowd is wonderful.”

The festival was the final day of the 3 Days of Aloha event sponsored by the Ke Kukui Foundation of Vancouver. During the first two days, participants attended workshops to learn the hand and foot movements for multiple hula dances and gain a great appreciation of Hawaiian culture, history, music and language. The performers took the stage Saturday afternoon to showcase what they learned.

Laura Bergstrom teaches hula in Issaquah and made the trek to Vancouver for the event, just as she has for the last five years. World-renowned hula instructors, called kumu hulas, travel from Hawaii to lead the workshops, Bergstrom said.

“It’s such an amazing opportunity to get together with people who love hula, the hula community,” she said.

The event also provides a glimpse at Hawaiian history, which has a connection to Vancouver.

Hundreds of Hawaiians lived in and around Kanaka Village at Fort Vancouver during the days of the fur traders in the 1830s. After the fur trade ended, some Hawaiians stayed in the area but many died when Oregon Trail pioneers brought diseases. Most returned to Hawaii or moved to Canada where they were able to purchase land, according to the Ke Kukui Foundation

For Portland resident Connie McCarty, the event was a chance to enjoy a culture she loves.

“They’re just really down-to-earth, loving people,” she said. “We’ve been to the islands to experience it firsthand.”

McCarty brought her granddaughters — Brianna and Jasmine, both 10, and Allysen, 3 — and friend Bernice Adams to the event. Adams, also of Portland, wants to visit Hawaii. McCarty figured the festival could serve as an introduction.

“Let’s take a trip to Hawaii and go to Vancouver,” she said.

Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or marissa.harshman@columbian.com.

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