Dorothy Mae Elizabeth Soares Thompson (May 16, 1921 – March 19, 2010), widely known as Auntie Dottie, was an American

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

organizer, who is credited with co-founding and developing the

Merrie Monarch Festival The Merrie Monarch Festival is a week-long cultural festival that takes place annually in Hilo, Hawaii during the week after Easter. It honors King David Kalākaua, who was called the "Merrie Monarch" for his patronage of the arts and is cre ...

. The Merrie Monarch Festival, which is held in Hilo, is Hawaii's premier

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (''oli'') or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), ''mele''). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli ...

event. It was developed by Thompson and hula dancer, George Naope. Dorothy Mae Elizabeth Soares was born on May 16, 1921, the youngest of five children. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

in 1937 she was named best female athlete of Hilo High School. She graduated from President William McKinley High School in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

in 1939. She had four children with her husband Ronald Saiki. Her second husband was George Thompson. Thompson served as the Merrie Monarch's executive director since 1968 with Naope. She remained the festival's head until her death in 2010. Thompson initially had to push hard for funds and media coverage during the festival's early years. Throughout her tenure as director of the festival, Thompson was careful to keep its main focus on hula. She kept admission prices low and resisted efforts to move Merrie Monarch from Hilo's Edith Kanaka'ole Tennis Stadium, where it has traditionally been held, to a larger facility. Mayor of Hawaii Billy Kenoi proclaimed February 13, 2010, as ''Auntie Dottie Thompson Day''. Dorothy "Auntie Dottie" Thompson died from complications from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at the Hilo Medical Center in

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

on March 19, 2010, at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Dottie 1921 births 2010 deaths Hawaiian cultural activists Hawaii culture Deaths from pneumonia in Hawaii People from Hilo, Hawaii