Sara Rubin here, thinking about how we can both rediscover and reinvent traditions in a way that reflects our values. Just because something has always been a certain way doesn’t mean it’s something that we should perpetuate. There’s a model in Pacific Grove that shows you can end traditions that are harmful, and replace them with something new and joyful.
The Youth Ambassadors of Pacific Grove are again throwing the Summer Lights festival, a week of events that starts tonight (with a screening of the film Lilo & Stitch at 6pm at Chautauqua Hall) and continues with crafts, oldies music and a pet parade (at 2pm Friday on Lighthouse Avenue) throughout the week. It culminates with the main event on Saturday at Lovers Point with a pancake breakfast fundraiser followed by live entertainment from 11am-10pm.
This is notable in part because it uplifts the community as a whole, without doing so at any particular group’s expense. Pacific Grove’s now-defunct and long-held tradition of Feast of Lanterns had a racist origin and tried to put lipstick on an ugly past. The city and the summer are better and brighter without it. But for those who might have missed the fun parts—the pet parade, the live music and dance—those have been reimagined as something new.
The headline act at 9pm on Saturday on the pier at Lovers Point is the hula group from Hi'ilani 'O Ke Kai, a Hawaiian cultural club that offers outrigger canoeing and hula dancing. They will bring about 30 dancers to light up the night with glowing poi, a Maori tradition. They’ll also do a Tahitian dance, in addition to a Hawaiian hula piece.
While I was reporting on a feature story (set to run in Thursday’s paper) about the hula group, I got to see a first practice run at using the poi, weights on strings. For an incredibly well coordinated group, there were laughs to be had as they adjusted to something new and far heavier (thanks to the batteries for the lights) than the poi they are used to. They had to take off their hula skirts to avoid catching the lights; then they had to spread out on the dance floor to avoid hitting each other. Head teacher Marleen Bush reminds the group with a laugh: “You did sign a waiver!”
For me, it was a fun behind-the-scenes look at a first draft of what will no doubt be a beautiful, polished performance by Saturday. For the group, it was a chance to have some lighthearted fun.
And for Pacific Grove, it all marks a new, positive chapter. For the second year in a row, Hi'ilani 'O Ke Kai dancers will uplift Polynesian tradition on a stage that for decades belittled an Asian cultural group.
As this festival becomes a new tradition, it’s a reminder that we can uplift our communities and yes, we can have nice things. I hope to see you there.