IN 1972, KUMU HULA GEORGE LANAKILAKEKIAHIALI`I NA`OPE AND KAHU WENDELL SILVA CREATED OUR ORGANIZATION TO PRESERVE HAWAIIAN CULTURE THROUGH DANCE. FROM THAT IDEA THEY FORMED THE KALIHI-PALAMA CULTURE & ARTS SOCIETY, INC. (KPCAS) TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR HAWAII'S KEIKI, REGARDLESS OF NATIONALITY, TO SHOWCASE HULA, HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. THE MOST VISIBLE EXAMPLE OF THEIR EFFORTS IS REPRESENTED BY WHAT IS NOW RECOGNIZED INTERNATIONALLY AS THE QUEEN LILI'UOKALANI KEIKI HULA COMPETITION. OVER THE PAST 45 YEARS KCPAS ESTIMATES THAT KCPAS HAVE HOSTED OVER 25,000 CHILDREN WHO HAVE DANCED ON OUR STAGE. KPCAS HAS ALSO EXPANDED OUR MISSION OVER THE YEARS TO PROVIDE ETHNIC DANCE AT NOMINAL AND SOMETIMES NO COST AT VARIOUS COMMUNITY CENTERS; HULA, FILIPINO FOLK, OKINAWAN, AND AMERICAN DANCE TO THE HAWAI`I COMMUNITY WITH NOMINAL COSTS. KPCAS CONTINUES TO SUPPORT ITS MISSION TO PROMOTE HULA LITERACY IN HAWAI`I AND ABROAD WITH ITS KEIKI HULA ANNUAL LANGUAGE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD. KPCAS HAS MOST