Video by David Corrigan, Voice of Stephanie Salazar

HILO, Hawaii – Its one of the highlights during Hilo’s week long Merrie Monarch hula festival: The Invitational Hawaiian Arts & Crafts Fair.

The Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium becomes packed with artists – many of them masters in their respective field – for a lively bazaar that at times resembles a museum as much as a flea market.

The cultural curiosities abound, while Hawaiian music and hula on the front stage entertained attendees around the clock.

Big Island Video News paid a visit to the Fair around noon on Saturday, the last day of the event. We were there at the same time as Governor Neil Abercrombie, who just finished participating in the Merrie Monarch parade. Thousands of others were also shopping at the same time, packing the parking lot, the civic center, and the Butler Building next door.

Na Makua designs organizes the big event every year. They conduct a specific screening process for anyone who wants to involved – after all, it is an invitational fair. The uniqueness, quality and craftsmanship of the product is taken into consideration, and all items must be made in Hawaii by the person applying to have a sales booth. That means the final crop of artisans and craftsmen who display at the show are some of the best in the state at what they do. We spoke to just a handful of them.