This year’s Song Contest is sure to take viewers back in time as we celebrate the “Songs of the Early 20th Century.”  On Friday evening, March 18, 2005, some 1,800 Kamehameha Schools Kapalama Campus students will sing the music that our great-grandparents enjoyed in their youth. Songs that may be considered the “top ten hits” of seventy-five to a hundred years ago. These beloved mele, sung in the stylistic features of the time period, provide us a window into our past.

The journey begins Friday morning at 7:15 a.m., when Kapalama Campus teachers Lilinoe Ka`ahanui and Tim Ho will offer a peek at the evening’s live presentation as guests on the KHON TV 2 Morning News.

Preshow
Later that evening, tune in to KHON TV 2 at 6:30 p.m. to see a one-hour historical pre-show on Hawai‘i’s early territorial years when Hawaiian music and music-making in its various forms enjoyed great popularity among all classes of society.

Live Broadcast
The live broadcast of the 83rd anniversary of the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest begins at 7:30 p.m., with classes competing for the traditional men’s, women’s and coed cups and other musical awards. The ever popular Ho`ike will celebrate the theme, "Heroes of the Early 20th Century."  Five individuals whose lives have inspired the Hawaiian people to believe in themselves and to proudly celebrate the life ways of our precious homeland will be honored in hula and mele:  Queen Lili`uokalani, Ikua Purdy, Duke Kahanamoku, Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana`ole and Charles E. King.

Encore Performance
If you can’t tune in on Friday, you can relive the excitement by tuning in to the rebroadcast on Sunday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. on Hawaii Public Television, channel 11.

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