HONOLULU -- Hundreds of women and men dancers will take the stage Saturday night to perform the hula auana, or modern dance, on the final night of the 2008 Merrie Monarch Hula Festival.

A total of 27 wahine (women) and kane (men) halau (groups) are set to dance. The groups come from Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, Molokai, California and Nevada.

Following the final performances Saturday night, the awards for the top halau will be presented.

On Thursday night, Cherissa Henoheanäpuaikawaokele Käne won the competition for Miss Aloha Hula 2009. She performs this weekend with Hälau Ke‘alaokamaile.

Tune in to KITV and KITV.com for live coverage of the event starting at 6 p.m. HST, midnight EST.