Islanders Luau

We trained our new catering staff on Thursday and Blake had his first job yesterday. He did an amazing job--spot on! #hawaiianfood #hawaiianfoodcatering #luaucatering

The Chief always gets the audience laughing when he brings up the "toughest warriors in the village" for audience participation. #PolynesianEntertainment #luauparty #luauentertainment

We trained a bunch of new caterers yesterday by having them pack up our truck with everything needed for a catering, plus a few tikis. They drove the truck one block to Grandma Susiana’s house where we set everything up like it was a real event. We didn’t want to buy a REAL whole roast pig for the training, so our good ‘ol stuffed tiger had to fill in, so we could teach how to do a pig ceremony and carve the pig. After learning how to grill, our new caterers were served from the buffet which they had set up. It was the world’s longest training, but we feel like our crews this summer will be "on point"! #hawaiianfood #catering #WholeRoastPig

Luau season is heating up! #WholeRoastPig #hawaiianfood #catering

We had our biggest luau in six months at a middle school in South Orange County last Friday. The kids thoroughly enjoyed our Fiji Foto Booth, Samoan Coconut D...emo, Palm Weaving Village, pulled-pork sliders, and a full show! After our middle-school aged grand-daughter ran the photo booth and danced, she decided that she wishes she could go to a private school like that! #schoolparty #schoolactivity #hawaiianfood #polynesiandancers #luauparty See more

We are gearing up for a busy luau season! #luauparty #catering #hulagirls

Normally Maril is loading up the back of his van all the way to the roof with a big sound system, costumes, drums, and fresh flowers, at least once a week, unloading it at the event, reloading it after the event and then stowing it all in the garage, until the next event. With luaus being shut down these days, we are packing up the van with suitcases to go see kids and grandkids at least once a week. He thoroughly enjoys both, and they are both equally hard on his body. Shows... require a lot of physical setup of heavy equipment, huge tikis, backdrops, and more, plus dancing and then spinning a heavy fire-knife as the grand finale, before packing it all back up. Grandkids require a lot hiking, pickle ball, tennis, and biking. The old man has been a weekend warrior for a long time! Either way he has to work out nonstop to stay in shape for the next show! #tropicalflowers #luauparty #firedancer See more

Looking forward to bringing Hawaiian catering to luaus in SoCal as soon as people are able to party again! #roastpig #catering #hawaiianfood #luauparty

Flashback Friday exactly 5 years to our hike to the tallest peak on Tutuila Island in American Samoa. It's usually too rainy to safely climb Matafou's extremely steep and slippery ridge lines, but we got lucky! It was a crazy 9 hours in the sultry heat, with overgrown trails. It was so steep and slippery that we were often grabbing tufts of grass to pull ourselves up the slippery trail. Look at the vegetation around Nathan's waist while he hiked the ridgeline on our final ...ascent. There was so much vegetation on the ridgeline's cliffs that it seemed pretty safe. At the top, there was a round metal WW2 bunker with narrow slits to shoot artillery out of, if the island was ever under attack. On the way down, we used tree roots like ladders. When we stopped for a water break and sat on some fallen logs in the trail, someone commented, "We really could use a machete on this trail." Our son Miles then reached under the log he was sitting on and to all of our astonishment he pulled out an old rusty machete. We collectively said, "No way!" The boys swung the machete to widen the trail for the rest of the hike, and it became one of Nathan's hiking companions for the rest of the time he lived on the island. We Bring the Islands To You! #Matafou #crazyhike See more

For Throwback Thursday, We Bring the Islands To You! When our son's family moved to Samoa in 2015, his little boys had fun playing with the huge, fat, slow frogs until the neighbors informed them that they secrete a poison. Too bad the neighbors didn't tell them that hermit crabs and sea cucumbers were equally dangerous. It would have saved the hermit crabs and sea cucumbers a lot of grief. The little boys loved everything about the island--the sports teams that were flexible about letting 3 year olds play on an older brother's team, the trees to climb, the "aunties" who loved them everywhere they went, the boxing gym where they could watch local boxers work out, and especially the hikes on thick jungle paths to remote beaches with white sand and warm clear water! American Samoa Samoa Tourism Apia, Samoa

Throwback Thursday three years to Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California They hired us two years in a row to feed and entertain students for their Finance Days! #luaufood #hawaiiancatering #Luauactivities

One week from today, at 4 and 7 pm, Islanders Luau will strut our stuff on the Random Acts TV show as we surprise a well deserving recipient with elaborate luau decorations, yummy Hawaiian food, and entertainment! Add it to your calendar and share this post with those who won’t want to miss it! BYUtv is the station that carries the Random Acts show. Dish Network - Channel 9403 Direct TV - Channel 374 Spectrum - Channel 259 #luauparty #randomactsoflove #hawaiianfood

We have our first luau of 2021 this afternoon with catering and a pineapple tree, and then our second luau of the year with entertainment this evening! The Chief was pretty excited to get to work, even though they are small events that work within Covid guidelines. He loves showtime! #catering #hulagirl #smallbusinessowner

Maril normally doesn't practice the firedance dance because he has been performing the fireknife dance on a weekly basis forever! A few years ago, our college-age boys were performing the firedance and mentioned to their dad, that the firedance is a forearm workout like no other. Both of the very athletic boys said that their forearms would burn and even cramp up while spinning the knife, despite one of them being a D1 collegiate linebacker who worked out constantly. Sounds like our fire dancers might want to add knife spinning to their workouts these days! #luauparty #corporateevents #companyparty #hoaevent

Covid-Safe outdoor dining sounds pretty good right now! Our blank 2021 calendar is taking reservations! The fire dancers are ready, the chef is ready.... all we need is a few customers and a nice backyard! #hawaiifood #hawaiianfood

On our first trip to American Samoa in 2005, when our 4 boys were between the ages of 12 and 21 they were really looking forward to hitting the beaches. Instead, on our first day there, our host took us to the TV station to be interviewed. They started by asking Maril why he had come to the island and he enthusiastically told them how he had wanted to come see the land of his grandfather, Luteru Afualo who had served a lifelong mission for our church there. He talked of h...is grandfather's faith, and the faith of our family for about 5-10 minutes without being interrupted. Then they asked the same question to each of the four boys, starting with Preston, who told them he had just recently returned from his two year church mission, then on to Nathan, who talked about his upcoming mission to Argentina, and so on for about a total of 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted sharing. We were told it would be broadcast on TV the next night. We expected that there would be a lot of editing and they might actually show just a minute of what they wanted to focus on. We never saw it the next night, probably because the boys finally got to go to the beach. But, for the next 3 weeks, we could be in the most obscure village on any of the islands of Samoa, and people would say, "You are the family that was on TV!" At the end of the trip, we finally saw the broadcast and were amazed to see that the entire lengthy interview was completely unedited and still people actually watched it! The Samoan islands were so remote that there weren't many stations to choose from and the stations didn't have a lot of material to broadcast. We learned that nearly all Samoans in the islands attend church every Sunday, so our stories of faith were something they really enjoyed hearing. The Samoan islands are so warm and charming AND beautiful, we have been back several times and can't wait to return again! #WeBringtheIslandsToYou #FBF #talofa

Flashback Friday takes us back to the summer of 2018! Summer can't come soon enough, wouldn't you agree?! #luauideas #Hawaiiancatering #HawaiianBand #HawaiianDancers

These two got married and had a big Hawaiian Wedding Reception, 4 years ago today! Southern California has perfect winter weather for beautiful daytime wedding receptions! Theirs was an inside reception, but those are off limits this year! #happyanniversary #fbf #covidwedding #Hawaiiancatering

Chief Luteru" officially became a Chief, or Matai, in 2006, in his grandfather's small village of Tufutafoe, Savaii, Samoa, with a traditional Saofa'i Kava Ceremony. The village elders gave him the title of "Chief Afualo Luteru". When you click on each picture, read the captions to the right of the pictures for details of this incredible experience in Maril's life. #TBT

Shhh.... When we set up for the Random Acts surprise party that we did a couple of months ago, we had to stay completely quiet for the two hours of setup, plus the hour of waiting for the guest-of-honor to come outside. https://www.byutv.org/randomacts #randomactsoflove #hawaiiancatering #luaudecorations

Islanders Luau was part of the big surprise for the Random Acts TV show. It will air on January 20th! Here is a peak of our radiant dancers from that night! #hawaiiandancers Riverside, California #hulagirls

After several months of almost no requests for quotes, we have been getting a bunch this week! There is finally light breaking through the darkness! #hawaiianfood#entertainment

Its time to start booking those island-style Christmas Parties! We have become experts at fun Covid-safe events! #christmasparty #companyparty #corporateevents #holidayparty #COVIDParty

Perhaps we can add a new type of luau to our repertoire. "Survivor" luaus for all of the people who have recovered from Covid! We have so many friends right now who are slowly recovering. Thank goodness they are all alive! Pretty soon there will be a lot of survivors! #partyideas #hulagirl #entertainment

Happy Halloween from Halloween 1986! #badhairday

From our family to yours, Happy New Year! May 2021 soon be warm and full of the aloha spirit! #HappyNewYear2021 #HappyNewYear San Clemente, California Trussels

My sister was watching a show about Hawaii on TV tonight and when they featured some dancers she thought they looked a lot like Maril and our son Nathan, so she sent us a screen shot. No question, it was Maril and Nathan....who have never danced in Hawaii. The Coolest Places On Earth must have filmed an Islanders Luau show here on the mainland to find the best Samoan dancers and featured us on their 2014 show. Watch the clip starting at 14:18 to see Islanders Luau in action! It is Season 1, Episode 17, "Aloha Hawaii". Now, I wonder if we can collect royalties?! #hawaiiandancers https://www.amazon.com/Coolest-Places-on-Earth/dp/B07M7G5SRR

This year has been unique with luaus.... Normally clients only order our island musicians and more elaborate props for our biggest events. This year most of our events are for only about 25 guests, so they have extra money in their budget, so they are ordering our big ticket items for very small groups of friends. Its keeping our head above water and our amazing musicians are grateful for the work! #livemusic #luautheme #luauparty #Hawaiiancatering

Flashback Friday takes us to our 1994 family reunion in #idaho where the Chief and our four boys performed the haka for the first time. The older boys lost their fierce focus when they realized that their baby brother had stolen the show. All four of these guys are coming next week with ten grand-children in tow, who are sure to steal the show as only grandchildren can! #FBF #meriKirihimete

We are keeping our dancers busy with four events tonight, stretching from Rancho Santa Fe, California in San Diego, all the way up to Downey, California in Los Angeles County. #HawaiianCatering #HulaDancers #fireknifedancer #LuauDecorations

We had six shows in an Amazon.com warehouse in a 24 hour period last Tuesday. The first one started at 1:00 AM and the last one ended at 11:30 PM. It was our first event where the girls had to keep their masks on even while they were dancing! All of our other Covid-era shows have been outside with 6' of social distancing. #polynesianentertainment #luauparty #Companyparty #corporateevents

Since we had to cancel all of our paying luaus, we were able to perform for our church's Covid-safe Drive-by Christmas Party last Friday night. Our grand-daughter, accompanied by the Chief, warmed the hearts of over 200 people who drove up to our house. We decorated our front with a Mele Kalikimaka theme, and had a basketful of Almond Joy bars and some hand sanitizer on a curbside table. #melekalikimaka #hulagirl #ukulele

How about renting Islanders Luau props to decorate for Halloween? Have our live band play some Halloween music, add some cobwebs, encourage mask wearing and it could be really fun! #halloweendecorations #halloweenparty

Looking for a fun holiday craft? How about designing some Polynesian snowflakes?! Last year we came up with palm trees, tikis, and pineapples. Let's see your creativity! Waves? ukuleles, surfboards, hibiscus, plumeria, ginger, short ribs, pulled pork, elite college students? J/K on that last one..... we don't wanna get banned! #mompreneur #islandcrafts

It is not easy to drive all over to buy tropical flowers, arrange them, and deliver them onto our catering tables, but they definitely add the "wow" factor to our events! The customers love them, which makes it all worth it! #Hawaiiancatering #luauparty #luaudecorations

We catered and entertained for 200 employees at Costco on Friday. Not quite the ambiance we are used to, but it was super fun and everyone loved the Hawaiian food! #Hawaiiancatering#firedancer#huladancer #corporateevents

Throwback Thursday to 1966, just a couple of years before Susiana started Islanders Luau. Just a few years after leaving her grass shack in Samoa, Susiana was starting to dance professionally, had developed a very strong sense of style, and had a ton of ambition! Who has this much style when we go out on a cold winter day? Look at her amazing sunglasses and her bee-bonnet hairstyle! Fifty-four years later, she still out-dresses all of us. Her strong sense of style and ambition are what made Islanders Luau what it is today. #smallbusinessowner #tbt #mompreneur

When a client hires us for a small show with only one hula girl and one firedancer, we often send this dynamic duo. Lopati is one of the best fire-knife dancers in the world and His girlfriend, Jazzy, is an amazing dancer and Emcee. Customers LOVE them! It’s a super fun date for Lopati and Jazzy because they get to share their passion for dancing together, they get paid well and they are often treated to a Hawaiian buffet. #huladancer #firedancer #fireknife #polynesianentertainment

Do you recognize this guy?! He is the host for the TV show, Random Acts. We did a luau for them recently and they will air it in February. It was super fun to have 16 people there who were filming, adjusting the lighting and sound system, clowning around, and making us do retakes during the show! Stay tuned! https://www.byutv.org/randomacts. #Hawaiiancatering #companyparty #luauentertainment

We ordered this yummy pineapple entree in North Carolina at a Mexican restaurant. Maybe we could tweak it a lttle and serve it with fried rice on the side? #luauparty

Normally corporate events are a big part of our revenue, but they have been almost non-existent this year. Maril was pretty excited last week when both Costco and Amazon booked events for this week! #catering #Hawaiiancatering #luauparty

When the Governor gave the Shut Down orders this weekend, we promptly had 3 December luaus cancel on us. So, that frees us up to participate in our church's Drive-by Christmas Party on Friday night! Church members' front yards in Murrieta, California will feature things like a live nativity and other scenes from the Christmas story, while one house will have a live Santa, while others will have extensive Christmas Lights with their family singing carols. Our house will be s...et up with a "Mele Kalikimaka" theme complete with our family singing Christmas songs and performing a hula. Each house is giving out free treats, so if you are one of the first 150 or so to come, we will give you an Almond Joy, by a Covid-safe Santa. Message us if you would like a route map so you can enjoy a Covid-Safe Drive-by Holiday Party with your family, and you will end up with a treat from every house you "drive-by". #luauentertainment #hulagirl #holidayparty See more

We were asked to post something that shows peace and calm today. #LightTheWorld

Brando is a healthcare worker by day, and a pig cook and carver in his free time! Customers LOVE his pigs/pork! #WholeRoastPig #Hawaiiancatering #luauparty

Three years ago the city of Murrieta hired us to entertain for the city's annual Christmas party for the whole community! #luauentertainment #holidayparty #communityparty #hulagirls

We pay our dancers a little extra if they send us a photo from their event. It is fun to see their creativity and their eye for a good shot! I think I will put this one in a "Halloween" file. Its not too often that you get a spooky feel from a luau picture! #hawaiiandancer #luauparty #hulagirl

We had 17 luaus in December of 2019. So far we have 5 luaus on the books for December 2020. Let's hope there are lots of companies who are looking to spoil their workers with a Covid-safe outdoor luau luncheon! We can decorate the company patio or parking lot, serve Hawaiian food, and have hula dancers and musicians to create a festive atmosphere! #companyparty#Hawaiiancatering #holidayparty

Thank you to our crews who sacrificed their Thanksgiving to provide a feast and entertainment to another family who hired us for an Island-Style Thanksgiving! #givethanks #WholeRoastPig #roastpig #hulagirls #Hawaiiancatering

For Day 6 of the #GiveThanks campaign we would like to say how grateful we are for our fantastic chef, Gemini Veavea! She grew up in Leone, America Samoa, graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute, worked at a Country Club in Kapolei, HI, and then moved to our area. When Maril saw her resume he almost didn't call her, because he thought it was too good to be true. Gemini loves to cook and she cranks out tons of tasty Hawaiian dishes for us. She makes sure the food is always out the door on time, and drops everything if we have an emergency. She is cooking for Islanders Luau clients on Thanksgiving tomorrow, and then she will go home and spoil her family, too. Thank you, Gemini! #Hawaiiancatering #LuauFood

Fa'afetai tele lava! Thank you very much, to all who follow Islanders Luau, "like" us, and occasionally comment! It keeps our business high in the Search Engines! Our day 5 #GiveThanks post for today, is gratitude for those who consistently "like" our posts! You are helping to keep our chefs, catering teams and dancers working and they are very grateful! #Hawaiiancatering #hulagirls #firedancers #hawaiianmusicians #luaudecorations

Day two of the #givethanks challenge, brings us gratitude for the faithful grandfather that Maril had, who made sure his children learned music in Samoa 80 years ago, and found a way for them to immigrate to the US and gain an education. https://www.islandersluau.com/b/the-legacy-of-luteru-afualo

We are accepting the #givethanks challenge for the next seven days. We are grateful that, despite Covid doing its best to shut down live entertainment and catering, that lots of customers have trusted us to find ways to do those two things safely. And we are especially grateful that our cute dancers have only had to dance with masks once so far since they can usually dance outside more than 6’ from the audience. #hulagirls #covidparty

David Tran, the inventor of Sriracha Sauce, hired us a couple of years ago for his huge Irwindale manufacturing plant luau. We dressed up four of his main employees to be Pig Warriors, they carried the pig over to the buffet, and the feast began. With strict Covid restrictions, we can decorate company parking lots and cater and entertain outdoors for company holiday parties as long as employees wear masks and social distance! We have recently catered Covid-safe parties at Amazon and Costco facilities. Call Maril and he can tell you how it works! #Hawaiiancatering #HR #eventplanner #covidparty Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce Costco Amazon.com We practice social distancing guidelines set forth by the CDC and various health organizations.

With the state shutting down all gatherings, we are sure hoping that companies will hire us to feed their employees! That is about the only way we can keep our workers working. Support your local small businesses--especially when their chef puts together amazing dishes like this Hula burger! #Hawaiiancatering #companyparty

We have a catering and Hawaiian entertainment on Thanksgiving day this year! The pig should look pretty impressive on their Thanksgiving table. #TurkeyDinner

We had so much fun last night at a luau for the TV show, Random Acts! https://www.byutv.org/randomacts. They hired us for catering and entertainment, plus we donated a ton of props and set them up for a very fun evening. We have to wait until February to see the show. #LuauParty #Hawaiiancatering #companyparty

With SoCal's amazing climate, daytime luaus are quite pleasant during the cold months. Actually daytime luaus are probably even more pleasant during the cold months rather than the hot summer months when it is better to wait until the evening! #birthdaypartyideas #companyparty #Hawaiiancatering

Southern California is the perfect spot for a luau... although we sure get a lot of calls from people in other states looking for a luau. #luauentertainment #Hawaiiancatering #holidayparty

Social distancing? We are compliant....but this is over the top! #tahitiandancers #luaudancers #luauentertainment

Maril’s mom, Susiana, started Islanders Luau back in 1971, and at the age of 79 she is still doing things over the top! She took us to her elegant country club for our birthday dinner this week. She surprised us with Hawaiian statues, surrounded by bird of paradise from her yard, guava, and lush greenery to create beautiful centerpieces for our tables. She also brought her ukulele and serenaded us with a couple of island songs and a rousing Happy Birthday To You! Her creativity, talent, hard work, and desire to impress never cease to amaze us! #islandprincess #samoansuga Canyon Crest Country Club

A solar sales company hired us to feed the troops a Hawaiian Buffet as a reward for making their goals. The day before the party, their venue backed out, so since we always aim to please (and we knew them) we let them rent our pool. They are diving for $500 worth of silver dollars here. Their farmer-tanned bodies are covered with welts because a paintball fight preceded the pool party. This company has found that rewarding their door-to-door sales force regularly keeps them working hard! #companyparty #HawaiianCatering #EmployeeIncentive Thomas Shaffer Rick Martinez

All businesses in California have to have an elaborate Covid plan for their unique business. Part of ours includes Island-themed Buffet rules for our catering table. Three of us put our heads together to come up with our best Pidgin or Hawaiian slang to keep with the theme. How did we do?! We are open to ideas! #pidgin We Bring the Islands to You! #luauparty #Hawaiiancatering

Flashback to a trip to Samoa. Many families have a fruit stand on their property along the roadway where they sell products that they have grown. These little "markets" are the main place that everyone buys produce, unless they make a trip to the capital city on the island and buy produce at the flea market. We Bring the Islands To You! #Islandcatering American Samoa Apia, Samoa

Our beautiful hula maidens have had free time lately, so they have been creating beautiful new headpieces! We have three luaus this weekend, where they will be put to good use! #hulagirls #luauparty #hawaiiandancer

We haven't had a lot of luaus this month, but we have gotten amazing reviews on the ones we have had! Our dancer said, "The birthday girl was in tears because she was so happy!" Then the client texted Maril this morning, "Your performers MADE my mom's birthday truly special! Thank you. All three performers were amazing and my whole family really enjoyed them. I can't thank you enough. --Jenn Sistilli"

Throwback 15 years to Fatumafuti, American Samoa. When our family drove past this unusual little island in the middle of a coral reef, our boys begged us to stop. They dove into the water and joined the locals at the base of the little island. Preston actually climbed up the cliff with a local and was told he was the first "palagi" that had ever made it to the top. I was petrified as I watched him. I could tell when the boys made it to the top, because HUGE fruit bats were startled and started circling the island. The wingspan of a Samoan fruit bat is three feet. If you can spot the blue tarp on the side of the island, that is the spot that is safe to jump from, into the water below. The current was very strong near the island. We Bring The Islands To You! #tbt #ThrowbackThursday

Despite record-breaking 121 dagree heat on Saturday in Woodland Hills, our crew got an effusive review for their spectacular show, from the event coordinator at Sunrise Westlake Village. "Maril, I really wanted to tell you I have NEVER enjoyed such a professional group. Loved 'em--each and every one of them were absolutely amazing. The girls were gorgeous, polite, and wonderful. The firedancer was great. The musician who played for an hour was absolutely outstanding! What a class act they are! I can’t wait for another year to have a luau because I was very impressed!" #SeniorLiving #huladancers #luauentertainment

Flashback Friday to a hot day like today, when we decided to go for a hike on our 2005 trip to American Samoa. We hiked with Maril's mom along the ridge line and there was no breeze and no water. Preston eventually figured out how to get a coconut down out of a tree and grandma instructed Maril how to husk it with a sharp stick, and we ALL knew how to crack it in half to get to the coconut water inside. This weekend SoCal is experiencing a major heatwave, unlike Samoa where it is pretty hot and humid every day of the year! Hiking isn't really a national pastime in Samoa because of the heat. The lush jungle and incredible beauty make it worth it in Samoa though. We Bring the Islands To You!

Thirty Eight years ago today we tied the knot with a huge luau! Of course the family all came together to spoil us--Dad saved tons of palm fronds from his tree-trimming business and put them into large cans of rocks, so we had 15 foot "palm trees" filling the cultural hall. Father, who was in the landscaping business, emptied out a plant nursery of every blooming plant and set them between the palms. Mom chose the Hawaiian/Samoan menu and invited everyone she knew ....and ...my palagi dad got to pay for it all. Maril's gorgeous sister Carla performed beautiful hulas, while Mom, Uncle Panesi, Uncle Sone, Aunt Peni and Aunt Jeanette provided the Islanders live music with Father backing them up, as he was an accomplished drummer. The most romantic part of the evening was dancing with Maril while Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Sone sang The Hawaiian Wedding Song. Later in the evening while dancing with my dad, my dad said, "This was really something! It was worth every penny." Whew! I was quite relieved. #Hawaiiancatering #HawaiianWeddingSong #LuauReception See more

Our freshly grilled veggies hot-off-the-grill are really yummy! #Hawaiiancatering #luaufood #BbqCatering

The sunset was beautiful last night in Oceanside! The wife of Master Sergeant Carlos Morales threw her husband a retirement party at Camp Pendleton. She said she had been looking forward to it for ten years! #huladancers #hawaiiancatering #retirementparty Camp Pendleton

Talega of San Clemente's HOA sold 620 tickets to their QuaranTiki Luau this year and every single guest showed up! They drove their cars to see 11 dancers who were spaced out along the route, they were given a luau gift bag, plus a huge bag of freshly grilled Teriyaki Chicken with all the Hawaiian side dishes, to take home. After 8 consecutive years of hiring Islanders Luau for their annual event, Talega was about to cancel because of Covid. Maril came up with the idea of a Drive-Thru Luau. They gave it shot, and it was a big success! #covidparty #hawaiiancatering

Thank you, Marielle Formoso, for all of the cute pictures you send us when you dance for us. It takes some serious selfie skills to be able to get a good picture of that many people who are all smiling without anyone being blocked from the camera! Our dancers obviously have some skills as well, with posing for the camera and giving each other a little space on stage. #huladancers #luaudancers #hawaiiandancers

Our 12 year old grand-daughter has found a new favorite spot to practice spinning her Moari Poi Balls! New Zealand is just past the horizon. Preston Beck #dancepractice #luaudancers #maoripoiballs

San Diego gets our vote for the best run county in California! Not only do they have beautiful weather, relatively low crime and nice freeways, but I read today that San Diego has reduced their numbers of Covid cases to the point that they get to loosen the restrictions on their residents! Its crazy what things make us happy these days! San Diego Mission Bay Resort San Diego, California #luaucatering #Hawaiiancatering #luauideas #luaudecorations

Talega of San Clemente sold 655 tickets for our luau last Saturday night. Every single person showed up, and it was great to see their smiles! Our dancers danced for 2 hours straight (in the heat) as cars drove up and then wound their way through the parking lots to see the other villages of dancers, until at the end, guests were handed a big bag of freshly prepared Hawaiian food, and were sent on their way with a traditional Aloha 'oe farewell. #communityparty #hawaiiancatering #hawaiiandancers #covidparty #companyparty #corporateparty #companyluau #corporateluau #communityluau #hoa #hoaparty #covidparty

We have got our "Game Face" on and we are ready for some big luaus today! Our biggest luau is a drive-through luau where people don't have to get out of their cars. Kind of like a ride at Disneyland--think the Autopia ride--only everyone will be driving Range Rovers and Teslas instead of mini cars. Instead of seeing automated characters and Mickey Mouse, they will see the real thing--hula girls, fire-dancers, and island musicians, spread out throughout the "ride". At the ...end of the ride, they will receive a big family sized bag of freshly grilled teriyaki chicken, pulled pork, and more, topped with a lei! Everyone in their community can then take their feast home and eat it in the shade of their very own manicured front yards, with neighbors within shouting distance. This is our ninth year entertaining and feeding 600-700 people at Talega of San Clemente. They had cancelled it this year, because of Covid, and then the Chief got very creative and here we go! #Hawaiiancatering #hawaiiandancers #hawaiianfood #luauideas #hoaideas See more

Throwback Thursday to 2006 to Maril's first trip to Samoa! It is traditional for family to have matching clothes made by a local seamstress while you are there. We Bring the Islands To You! American Samoa Samoa #luauideas

Family parties are becoming our bread and butter this year. Long live big families! Families are good at knowing who is high risk in their family and to especially give those family members safe space, while taking normal social distancing measures with the rest of the family. #familyparty #Hawaiiancatering #luauparty

A client's backyard swimming pool was a pretty spectacular backdrop for our outrigger canoe at last night's luau. #luauparty #luaudecorations #partyrentals Yorba Linda, California

Since clients can't invite very many guests to their luaus this year, they are spending a lot more of their budget on flowers. It is keeping me hopping! The business that usually makes our fresh leis went under because of Covid and so I made a groom's lei last night. How does it look? #weddingideas #weddingleis #luaudecorations

Our corporate luaus, like this one, are non-existent this year. But, being the creative chief that Maril is, we will be providing a drive-by experience for a huge HOA community, where we will have the community members drive up to our dancers for a tour of the islands, complete with our sumptious island take-out food. #luaudancers #hawaiianfood #islandcatering

One of our clients last Saturday night had huge lawn areas, but not one blade of grass. He raked out the dirt and had us set up lots of Islanders props. It looked great! #luaudecorations #partyrentals #hawaiiandancers

Rancho Santa Fe, California was a beautiful place for a luau last Saturday!

Seven luaus today! #HawaiianCatering We needed a total of 11 hula girls and 8 male dancers. Everyone is excited to dance! #LuauDancers

We have six luaus scheduled for this Saturday! Luckily since luaus are outside, we are allowed to have luaus. Normally we don't do luaus for less than 50, but this year, with Covid requirements, many events are under 50 guests. Our caterers wear masks, we provide social distancing signage, and, yes, that's a bottle of hand sanitizer on the pig table! #HawaiianFood #CovidParty #Hawaiiancatering

For the last nine years, one of our biggest luaus of the year has been for the Talega Community in San Clemente, CA. This year we can't do our traditioal luau, so we are going to give them "A Tour of the Islands!" As guests paddle up in their Tesla, Suburban, and Range Rover outriggers, they will be treated to dancers from the islands of Hawaii, Tahiti, New Zealand, and Samoa. Our Bora Bora Buffet will be delivered straight to their outrigger for them to enjoy as they paddle off into the sunset . Here's a peak at our Talega Luau from about 3 years ago. #CovidEntertainment #HawaiianFood #HawaiianEntertainment #CommunityEvent