I don't know if it's me or the game, but I was able to attend the Luau. I spoke with everyone, contributed to the soup, but could not leave. Was there more I was supposed to do? I was able to walk around on the beach and such -there was no locking of screen. It was like Hotel California - you can check in but you can never leave.
I had a problem with this too, but found out after an hour of fiddling around that if you walk into the mayor he will speak to you about starting the festivities, he had no indication of saying anything more though so that might be a good thing. /Zorbeltuss