Senior Center Luau

     Yesterday I was very fortunate to be able to attend a luau with my sweetie and my granddaughter Madelynn.  The luau was put on by my ukulele teacher, Auntie Amelia, who teaches free ukulele and hula lessons at the Lake Stevens Senior Center. Auntie Amelia stated that the purpose of the luau was to showcase the talents of her ukulele and hula students. In spite of that stated purpose, she still let me play with the group.

My Sweetie and I at the Luau

     The meal was wonderful. There was a lot more pulled pork and teriyaki chicken on my plate that was probably wise to eat at one setting, along with rice, a salad, and various other Hawaiian delicacies.  One thing I particularly enjoyed was a raw tuna dish called ahi poke.  It was  simply cubed raw bluefin tuna that had been tossed with some chopped onion and other seasonings.  It was really delightful (assuming one likes sushi). I only ate a little of it as they didn't bring it out until I had already consumed a considerable amount of pulled pork and teriyaki chicken.  There was also a wonderful salmon dish but I failed to get its name. I also discovered that I do like poi if its fixed right.  The definition of "fixed right" included the addition of cream, sugar, and a few other ingredients. I feel somewhat sorry for the ancient Hawaiians who didn't have the necessary ingredients to fix the poi right.

That is my hat barely showing over the right shoulder of the hula dancer on the left

   After the lovely meal, I played my ukulele with the larger group which included both Auntie Amelia's beginning and intermediate ukulele students.  Her hula students danced during some of the songs.  After about eight songs, all of the students sat down to enjoy the rest of the show, consisting of the serious musicians and hula dancers.  I am truly amazed by the hula. It is the epitome of grace. And it isn't just the women, who are somewhat naturally more graceful. Even when big burly Hawaiian men dance the hula they look graceful.  I can't add a photo of myself while performing as my grand daughter took videos instead of photos. I'm insufficiently technically savvy to figure out how to add a video clip to a blog post.  You'll just have to take my word that I was playing the ukulele and that is indeed my hat showing over the shoulder of one of the hula dancers.

    I had a great time and I think both Madelynn and Linda really enjoyed themselves as well. They were actually talking about signing up for hula lessons as we left.  I apologize for the lack of a photo of Madelynn. I gave her my phone to take pictures and then neglected to insure she appeared in one herself.