UPDATED June 8: Join the Friends of the Robbins Library for a hula program by Hui Lehua o Kamawila, set for Thursday, June 9, at 7 p.m., has been postponed two weeks because of expected rain.

The free program will take place on the lawn outside the Whittemore-Robbins House, behind the library.

Hui Lehua o Kamawila is a collaborative hula group dedicated to preserving and sharing Hawaiian dance traditions in Somerville and the New England area.

Hula is a storytelling dance. The dances describe the many special and storied places of Hawai’i. At the end of the program, the audience will be invited to join in a demonstration of some hula dance moves.

The dance group takes its name from the lehua flower, which blooms in adverse conditions. The ‘Ohi’a Lehua plant is often the first to recolonize the barren landscape of a freshly cooled lava flow. Found throughout the Hawaiian island chain, it is especially associated with the island of Hawai’i.

In case of rain, the program will take place in the Community Room at the library.

This news announcement was published Wednesday, June 1, 2022. YourArlington volunteer Kim Haase helped prepare the release for publication. It was updated June 8.