ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Hawaii's Polynesian Cultural Center Favored Tourist Attraction

Updated on November 20, 2016
elayne001 profile image

Ruth Kongaika was born in the Rocky Mountains and has lived most of her life in the South Pacific. She travels, gardens and writes.

I live within walking distance of the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Hawaii. Each day I hear the drums beating from the Polynesian villages, and in the evening I can hear the roar of the crowd in response to the night show in the big amphitheater.

It is an exciting, fun place to visit, even having gone there with family and other visitors several times. It is very beautiful with a lagoon and waterfalls, and there is always so much to see and do. It has become Hawaii's number one paid tourist attraction - and for good reason. You can see all of the Polynesian cultures in one place.

In the early days
In the early days

History of the Polynesian Cultural Center

Founded in 1963, the nonprofit Center was created specifically so that the students of the nearby Brigham Young University Hawaii could work their way through college by sharing their island heritage with visitors. These students come from an area that covers approximately 12 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean. The center itself covers a 42-acre facility on the North Shore of Oahu and has villages to showcase the different cultures.

Making tapa in Tongan Village
Making tapa in Tongan Village

The Villages

The islands of the Pacific are numerous and there are so many different cultures that it would take a life time to get to know about their traditions, history and foods. Because the Brigham Young University - Hawaii accepts students from these islands, it is a perfect way for them to earn their way through school, doing what they know best.


There are approximately thirty six distinct groups of Polynesian people.


The Polynesian Cultural Center showcases the people and island nations of Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, Samoa, Aotearoa (Maori New Zealand), Fiji, and the Marquesas. They also have a new Rapa Nui (Easter Island) exhibit featuring seven stone statues or hand-carved moai. The Polynesian Cultural Center is the only place on Oahu that can offer a glimpse into life on these other Polynesian islands.

Daily at the Polynesian Cultural Center they make an underground oven (imu) and roast a pig.

There is an Ali'i Luau Feast at which you can taste the roasted pork or other Polynesian delights. It is an all-you-can eat buffet at which you are entertained by local Hawaiian singers and dancers.

The luau takes place in the covered Hale Aloha, which comfortably seats about 700 guests on individual chairs at tables for eight. Every one has an excellent view of the entertainment.

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Polynesian Cultural Center go here.

A
Polynesian Cultural Center, Laie, Hawaii:
55-370 Kamehameha Hwy, Laie, HI 96762, USA

get directions

808-293-3132 http://www.polynesia.com

Hands-on Activities you can witness or be involved with in the villages include:

  • Coconut Husking
  • Tattoos
  • Fire Starting
  • Spear Throwing
  • Fire Walking
  • Wood & Tiki Carving
  • Fire Pit Cooking
  • Tree Climbing
  • Fire Knife Dancing
  • Haka Dance
  • Maori War Canoe


Besides visiting the villages, you can enjoy Hawaii's only canoe show, the colorful Rainbows of Paradise which is performed every afternoon aboard double-hulled canoes.

Hā: Breath of Life, features a cast of over 100 islanders performing traditional Polynesian dances and songs in a 2,800-seat Pacific Theater. There are even erupting volcanoes during the show.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)