There are between 50,000 and 75,000 Hawaiians living in Las Vegas; Las Vegas is nicknamed “the ninth Hawaiian Island.” The 80,000-square-foot, two-level Hawaiian Marketplace located on Las Vegas Boulevard just south of Harmon, is also a nostalgic reminder of how things used to be on the Strip before the megaresort was introduced.
King Kamehameha I, the ruler who unified the kingdom of Hawaii during his reign from 1795-1819, is respected on those islands and commemorated with a large, gold, robed statue in a few places. But in Las Vegas, along the Strip, the noble Hawaiian leader invites tourists to visit the shops and restaurants of the marketplace. "The great state of Hawaii has allowed this statue to be put here; it's a very rigorous process to get them to agree to it. If those folks don't believe in what you're doing, they're not going to do it. It was a tremendous honor."
The statue may be almost as large as the island versions, but is dwarfed by Vegas proportions.
Modeled after the International Marketplace in Honolulu, the outdoor shopping center near Polo Towers features island-style shopping; instead of the typical souvenir, gift shops or restaurants that tourists can only access by entering casinos, most retailers have kiosks or carts set up outside. People can walk through without having to venture far off their path.
What Las Vegas marketplace would be complete without entertainment? Visitors to the center will be awed by the authenticity of oversized animatronics birds that dance and sing Hawaiian songs, designed by a team whose clients include Universal Orlando.
The center also offers performances by hula and Tahitian dancers, and free lessons for those who want to learn to swing their hips like a hula girl.
For the pyromaniac in all of us, Samoan fire knife dancers will be juggling flaming cutlery. Hawaiian story-tellers and craft makers will share Hawaiian culture with visitors.
"There are so many Hawaiians that move to Las Vegas. Those people cannot go back to Hawaii often, so it’s like bringing Hawaii over to them."
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