Kansas City Hawaiians start local club featuring hula, food, family and fun

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Yes, at the Hawaiian Civic Club of Kansas City, they dance the hula.

"Basic hula steps come from maneuvers of war," explained Kawika Tonga, director of the civic club.

"A lot of our genealogy is incorporated in the dance itself," added Amy Kamakeeaina-Bird, club president.

The dance is important, but it is just a part of a bigger effort; most of it centered around one word.

"We share aloha, a little bit about the island, we perpetuate our culture. We try to teach our ohana, our family, about our heritage," Kamakeeaina-Bird said.

The club has only been official for about six months, but it has been years in the making. It is now chartered by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, which was founded in 1918 in Hawaii.

Here they value the big f's: food, faith, family and fun.

And everyone here will tell you, there's just something about the island they all celebrate.

"Hawaii captures your heart," explained Dorinda Makanaonalani Nicholson, club secretary.

They claim one visit will make you feel part of the land.

"That connection I think is felt whether you're a Kama'aina, which is born of the land, or you're a malahini, which is a visitor," Makanaonalani Nicholson said.

So they sing, dance, pray and eat together, for a purpose.

"To share that aloha spirit, to make sure that aloha lives, and it's not just a word," Tonga said.