HILO — Business managers around Hilo and East Hawaii may notice a lot of employees scheduling "doctor's appointments" tomorrow afternoon.

They should check the line at the Edith Kanaka'ole Multipurpose Stadium.

As one of the biggest free events in the Merrie Monarch Festival, the Ho'ike is a mix of hula and dances from around the Pacific Rim.

This year is no exception, with the bombastic powerhouse of Halau O Kekuhi, Tupulaga o Samoa mo a Taeao and New Zealand's Nga Uri O Te Whanoa providing entertainment long into the night.

There's a twist this year, however. The Academy of Hawaiian Arts, led by renegade kumu hula Mark Keali'i Hoomalu, was supposed to perform this year but pulled out.

As a result, the three remaining groups have been asked to stretch their performances to an hour each. While the lack of Ho'omalu's halau may dampen some enthusiasm, the prospect of an extended Halau O Kekuhi performance should not be missed.

For this year, Halau O Kekuhi portrays a scene from the epic tale of Pele and her sister Hi'iakaikapoliopele. It continues the battle between Hi'iaka and the mo'o (lizard spirit) Pana'ewa, as she moves through the forest of Pana'ewa. The halau will also feature the keiki hula class and a hula auana.

The halau is renowned for its bent-knee aihaa style of hula, a loud, bombastic performance reminiscent of Pele's eruptive energy. The leaders of the halau are Nalani Kanakaole and her nieces, Kekuhi Keli'ikanaka'ole and Huihui Mossman.

The next performance comes from Tupulaga o Samoa mo a Taeao, the Samoan club at the University of Hawaii-Hilo.

The club's name means "the youth of Samoa for tomorrow," but veteran Merrie Monarch watchers might remember them from two years ago, when they brought down the hale in the 2007 Ho'ike.

This time, most of the club's performers are in the Merrie Monarch Festival for the first time, and despite the sacrifices of balancing work, study and practice, club members are relishing the opportunity to share their dances with an audience of thousands.

Club President Jonathan Crichton heard about the club's invitation last November. They've been working toward their hour onstage ever since.

"I was amazed and honored at the same time, because the Merrie Monarch is really a prestigious event here in Hilo," Crichton said. "And to be able to perform and be a part of it is a tremendous honor for the Samoan club."

Fidel Tunupopo and Emma Pulu are the club's dance instructors. Tunupopo, a junior, said the show will feature eight dances. The men and women will each perform two dances. There's a sasa dance, an ava ceremony and the famous taualuga, the "money dance" traditionally performed solo by the taupou, the virginal daughter of a chief.

"It's going to be a blast," Crichton said.

Students generally practice on campus a few times a week, up to several hours a day.

In the last months, the halls of the university have echoed with drums, as either Tunupopo or Crichton took the helm and made final preparations.

"I try telling students that the priority is always education," Crichton said. "By all means, they have to do that first."

Dancers like Kohlse Saleapaga, a junior, were ready to go.

"Very exciting time for us. We get to show our culture and where we're from," he said. Like Crichton, Saleapaga is from American Samoa.

The fast-paced sasa is the hardest dance, requiring quick, intricate hand moves in synchronization. It may not be as difficult as balancing the dances against work and school, however.

"All the techniques are fast and it's about synchronization," Saleapaga said. "It's a bit harder than all the other performances. ... It's going to be a challenging one, but we're going to pull it off pretty good."

Nga Uri o Te Whanoa from New Zealand ends the night with an hour of haka, poi ball and other Maori dances like the waiata-a-ringa, or action song.

Donna Mariana Grant is the group's pouako, or leader.

Speaking by phone from New Zealand, she outlined the group's history. The family group is named in honor of an ancestor renowned for bravery.

The group recently placed 10th out of 36 groups in a national Maori cultural competition. Twenty-five people arrived in Honolulu last Wednesday, where they toured Oahu and performed at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

"It's just a potpourri of our cultural elements," Grant said, in describing some of the dances that will be performed. "The poi dancing is quite spectacular."

She said the dances can be "quite fierce and yet quite gentle."

"I suppose for the Hawaiian audience, the similarities of our culture and how we portray our legends through dance will be felt by the people," Grant said.

The group's performance will be based on the 25-minute piece from the national competition, but lengthened to fill out the hour that the Merrie Monarch Festival is granting them.

"Our purpose for coming over is to enjoy the excellence that Merrie Monarch has to offer and also to experience and to perform alongside our relations from Hawaii," Grant said. "For a lot of our group is very young so it's going to be a great experience for them. A trip of a lifetime."

The Merrie Monarch Festival homepage is at:

http://www.merriemonarchfestival.org/index.html