- April 24, 2025
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Maria Rosales and Jessica Hall are regulars at the Mall at University Town Center, so they stopped to listen to the music and enjoy the luau on June 7. It brings back nice memories for Rosales, who has visited Hawaii twice.
Photo by Lesley DwyerIn addition to hula dancing, the kids decorate paper surf boards.
Photo by Lesley DwyerDavid Swanson says he's not a dancer, but he picked up hula dancing quickly from Maikeli Tuinakauvodra.
Photo by Lesley DwyerMoana (Priscilla Ward) and Te Fiti (Veronica Gonzalez) give 6-year-old Palmetto resident JB Layhew a big hug during the luau on June 7.
Photo by Lesley DwyerBradenton resident and Disney fan Coral Mota, 3, doesn't have a Moana outfit, so she's wearing a grass skirt and lei over her Belle princess dress.
Photo by Lesley DwyerSarasota resident Hunter Klimovitsch shows off his face painting.
Photo by Lesley DwyerCharlotte Duty, 3, loves "Moana" so much that she dressed up as Hei Hei for Halloween last year.
Photo by Lesley DwyerNani Tiara leads the dancers with cues like coconut and watermelon. Fruit salad means to shake your hips really fast.
Photo by Lesley DwyerPalmetto resident and 3-year-old Alora Stone learns to hula dance.
Photo by Lesley DwyerBradenton resident and 1-year-old Alice Rodriguez colors a surfboard.
Photo by Lesley DwyerSarasota residents Mariah Underwood, 7, and Marisa Underwood, 2, wait on line to meet Moana and Te Fiti.
Photo by Lesley DwyerMoana (Priscilla Ward) and Te Fiti (Veronica Gonzalez) meet one of their biggest fans, 9-year-old Mackenzie Carney. Carney dressed for the occassion in a Moana T-shirt and matching bell bottom pants.
Photo by Lesley DwyerThe outfit of the day at the Mall at University Town Center on June 7 was a grass skirt paired with a lei.
The mall hosted a Moana-themed luau for hundreds of Disney fans.
“We’re ready to kick off summer,” Marketing Director Taylor Bennett said. “We have a lot to offer families. They can interact with the dancers. They can play in the play area and watch the show.”
Maikeli Tuinakauvodra and Nani Tiara with Strictly Entertainment entertained the crowd with music and hula dancing.
Kids could decorate a paper surfboard or have their face painted, but the main attraction was the meet and greet with Moana and Te Fiti from the movie. The line wrapped around the entirety of the play area.
Just before the kids reached their favorite characters, they were able to stop at a props table. Bradenton resident Coral Mota chose a pair of starfish glasses to match her yellow princess dress.
The 3-year-old is a huge Disney fan, but she doesn’t have a Moana outfit. So in a move out of the “Cinderella” playbook, Mota transformed her “Beauty and the Beast” Belle dress. She wrapped a grass skirt around the bottom and embellished the top with a flowered lei.
