Hawaii
Life of revered Loea Hula Nalani Kanakaole celebrated in Hilo
HILO (HawaiiNewsNow) – A light rain fell in Hilo Saturday almost as if the heavens wept alongside the hundreds of mourners who gathered to honor the life of revered Loea Hula Kumu Nālani Kanakaʻole.
Her celebration of life was held in a place named after her mother, the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium. Kumu Nālani died on Jan. 3 at the age of 79.
She was a respected wealth of Hawaiian knowledge, becoming a master kumu hula, a businesswoman, and beloved cultural leader.
The hoʻolewa was steeped in rich Hawaiian culture and traditional protocol.
“Her life and legacy is a multi-hyphenate kanaka. Everything that she touched, everything that she created, all of the collaborations, the people, the projects, were all grounded in kanaka truths,” her son Kuhaʻo Zane said.
Those in attendance remembered her for both her hard-working spirit and fun-loving nature.
“She enjoyed life. And I think thatʻs what I remember of her. When itʻs time to work, we work. And you work hard. When itʻs time to play, when itʻs time to have fun, she was right there,” kumu hula and longtime friend Vicky Holt Takamine said.
Her family also shared some of Kumu Nālaniʻs famous sayings over the years.
“Come on, everybody, front row mentality. Front row mentality!” her nephew Keala Kanakaʻole shared, as the crowd chuckled.
The celebration also included an ʻawa ceremony and the recitation of her moʻokūʻauhau, or genealogy. Milestones in her life were also on display.
“The life I lived with Nālani for the past 50 years has been an incredible ride. How fortunate to have a partner that would feed me with purity and delight in an amazing way,” said her husband, renowned fashion designer Sig Zane.
Hālau O Kekuhi members danced through their heartache as they sent a final aloha to their kumu.
“She expected excellence from you. She wanted discipline from you. You sat and you learned from her, it was an amazing experience to sit there and learn from her,” Kumu Vicky said.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii County Surf Forecast for March 04, 2026 | Big Island Now
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| East Facing | 3-5 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 5-7 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||
| Winds | East winds 5 to 10 mph. | ||||||
|
|||||||
| Weather | Partly sunny. Numerous showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the upper 70s. | |||||
| Winds | East winds 10 to 15 mph. | |||||
|
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| Sunrise | 6:37 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:27 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly sunny until 6 PM, then mostly cloudy. Hazy. |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||||||
| Winds | West winds around 5 mph early in the afternoon, becoming light and variable. |
||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Weather | Partly sunny. Hazy. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the mid 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | Light and variable winds, becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
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|
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| Sunrise | 6:41 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:31 PM HST. | ||||||||
The current moderate northwest swell will continue a gradual decline through Thursday. A small west-northwest swell will arrive on Friday and hold through the weekend, followed by a small north-northwest swell early next week. Choppy east shore surf will build to near seasonal average by Wednesday as trade winds strengthen over and east of the islands. Little change is expected along east facing shores through the weekend, followed by a possible decline early next week if winds veer southerly. Surf along south facing shores will remain small to tiny through the weekend, and some islands may an increase in choppy surf if southerly winds develop early next week.
NORTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the early morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions move in during the morning hours with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi glassy in the morning with N winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting WNW 5-10mph.
SOUTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NE winds 10-15mph. This becomes Sideshore texture/chop for the afternoon.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
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