The Hawaii club’s sold-out luau packed the Kiewit Fitness Center’s gym on Saturday night welcom-ing students, faculty and community members to learn and celebrate their culture with Hawaiian food, dancing and vendors.

    An entrance line wove through the stairwell and back up the KFC spine, where attendees could catch a sneak peak of the decorations and tables that stretched across all five courts.

   Upon entering the event, students were greeted by Hawaii club members and continued straight to snake through a spread of vendors selling various souvenirs. The last table before reaching the photobooth display was held by Madison Miyashiro and her mother.

   The pair traveled from Oahu for Creighton’s annual luau for the first time to sell their handmade jewelry that’s popular on the island.

   “I dive for the shells in the water in Oahu,” Miyashiro said as attendees approached the booth, exclaim-ing their praise for her pieces.

   “I haven’t taken the necklace off since I bought it so u could say I’m slightly obsessed. I also feel really good about it because I know the woman who made it put a lot of care into making it,” Ellen Fogarty, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said.

   Miyashiro’s younger sister is the decorations chair for the luau and she will be donating 15% of her profits to the Hawaii club.

   As attendees continued to pour in, people started to find their seats. While buying tickets, attendees had the option of purchasing an individual ticket with the ability to claim any seat, or reserving an entire table.

   At a table towards the middle of the floor Ina Louie, a community member, sat with her daughter and extended family at the luau. Her husband and brother both attended Creighton and she’s been to many luaus over the years.

   “Before, it was back in the Skutt ballroom, but this has grown so much,” Louie said. “What I love about it is that it brings back memories from when my husband was performing and the camaraderie of the community.” While attending Creighton, Louie’s husband would perform in the warrior dance along with singing and playing the guitar. They have three kids together now and live near Omaha.

   “My husband is from Hawaii,” said Louie. “ We try to go back twice a year so if we can’t go back, attending the luau at Creighton satisfies that feeling of missing home.”  

Several faculty members of the biology department sat together at the event. Instructor of biology Hollie Siebler was one of them, making it to the luau for her first time after wanting to attend for the past six years.

   Tables were dismissed in groups for attendees to go get their food, served to them by members of the Hawaii club. “I think there was a large variety of foods,” Siebler, a self-proclaimed picky eater, said. “I know the food is good if I find more than one thing on my plate that I like, and I did.”

   Many students were also attending a luau for their first time without knowing much of what to expect. Rylie Leffingwell, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, had never been to a luau before but was encouraged to attend by her friends in Hawaii club.

   “I’m very excited to see all the dances,” Leffingwell said. The focal point of entertainment throughout the night was the performance of 10 consecutive dances performed to the underly-ing narrative of Haloa (the Hawaiian creation story) and the relationship between man & ʻaina (land). The different styles of costumes represented the different stories told in each song.

   Rehearsal for the dances started in September. The dancers practiced anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour every week.

   “Every dance brought a different energy and representation of the creation story in their unique way,” Rachel Toves, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and senior choreographer for the luau, said. “My dance talked about the relationship man has with the ocean resources.”

   During the last dance before intermission the dancers asked for volunteers from the audience to come up on stage to learn a portion of their dance. Kandi Respicio, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, was co-kumu (teacher) for the Co-Ed Hula number and for the Tahitian dance. 

   Respicio has been dancing hula since she was three years old and began working as a show/luau dancer when she was sixteen. She danced in 6 of the pieces at Creighton’s lū’au and served as the demonstrator for the audience lesson. “Audience participation was a blast,” Respicio said. “My favorite part of it was the mix of people we had on stage, from Dr. Reedy, one of the Gen Bio professors to the adorable young girls who came to learn too. It was just the best time.”

   Tanya Winegard, vice provost for Student Life at Creighton, was also an attendee of the night. “I’ve probably been to over 20 luaus,” Winegard said. “I always love the theme and the story and how intentional the students are about teaching us about their culture while getting to be entertained. Everytime I come I learn more about Hawaii, its culture and the people. That’s always been impressive to me.”

   The theme of this year’s luau was “Ho’i I Ka Piko” meaning “Return to the Source.”

   “Hui ‘O Hawaii worked tremendously hard to bring Hawaii to Omaha and, personally, I felt right at home,” Respicio said. “It felt great to be on stage again, and I know that we are all so grateful for the opportunity to share the aloha with everyone there.”