South Pacific melodies and tales will resound...

South Pacific melodies and tales will resound in a corner of the South Bay on Tuesday night when the San Pedro Regional Branch Library presents “Culture Hawaii,” an event featuring Polynesian storytelling and Hawaiian slack key guitar music.

Among the performers will be Marie Solomon, a storyteller from the Big Island of Hawaii who frequently appears at festivals, schools and libraries, and Jeff Gere, drama director for the city and county of Honolulu. Gere, who has toured the world as a storyteller, plans to tell a series of “Oahu Spooky” tales rooted in Hawaiian mythology.

The entertainment will also include Hawaiian chants and “island music” played on the ki ho ‘alu, or slack key guitar. Intended for families, the performance is part of a year-round storytelling festival in the Los Angeles public libraries.

Other program offerings have ranged from Native American and Latino storytellers to Samoan dance groups and Japanese taiko drummers. Maureen Wade, an official with the library’s children’s division, said the program seeks to showcase diverse cultural traditions.

“We like to present to the public the wonderful cultures that exist in Los Angeles, including our Hawaiian ancestry,” Wade said. “Storytelling carries on the tradition of a culture, and we think that’s important for people to experience so they can all get along together.”

“Culture Hawaii” will appear at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the San Pedro Regional Branch Library, 931 S. Gaffey Street. Information: (310) 548-7782. According to festival coordinator Sharon Paulo, two other South Bay “Culture Hawaii” performances will be held, both on Wednesday. The first will be at 10 a.m. at the Wilmington Middle School, and the second will be at 3 p.m. at the Wilmington Public Library.