Lei Day, officially launched in 1928, is a popular festival in Hawai`i. Don Blanding, then a columnist for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, came up with the idea, later saying that at the time Hawai`i had no day that was special. Why not have a Lei Day – a day when everyone could wear lei and give
Articles Categorized History Hawai`i
Getaway to Volcano, Hawai`i
Sometimes you want to getaway without going anywhere. That’s a good time to explore areas close to home that people travel hundreds of miles to visit. Last week I decided to travel thirty miles to Volcano Village, and to look at it as if I’d never been there before. The weather was perfect and the
FATHER DAMIEN – HAWAI`I’S FIRST SAINT
In 1873 Father Damien accepted a call to serve people who lived with Hansen’s Disease on an isolated peninsula called Kalaupapa on the island of Moloka`i. Father Damien spent the rest of his life serving St. Philomina Catholic Church, building houses, schools, and hospitals, caring for patients and dressing their wounds, making coffins, digging
Liliuokalani Gardens: An Oasis in Time
Twice a week I treat myself to a morning walk around the perimeter of Liliuokalani Gardens, one of Hilo’s best known landmarks. On a perfect morning, the combination of morning sun, glittering sea, and the emerald lawn of the Japanese Garden are the perfect renewal for body, mind and spirit. Liliuokalani Gardens sit on 30
Days of Grace
My recent visit to the Honolulu Museum of Art was prompted by two exhibits on women artists in Territorial Hawai`i. One exhibit focused on Women Artists in Hawai`i: 1900-1950, which encompasses most of the Territorial period. Both residents and visitors to the islands, these women had much to contribute to Honolulu’s (to me) surprisingly vibrant
HARAJUKU: Hello Kitty’s Fashion Successor
The Honolulu Museum of Art is an oasis in busy Honolulu. The institution was founded by Anna Rice Cooke. She and her husband Charles Montegue Cooke collected art. Eventually the collection outgrew their home on Beretania Street and Anna decided to establish an art museum on the site. She wanted it to be multi-cultural
CENTURY OF SERVICE
This is a story about hard work, commitment, and a family owned business marking its 100th anniversary this year. It is a Hawai`i story and an American story. It’s a story worth telling. Koichi Taniguchi left Japan in 1907. He was seventeen years old when he arrived in Honolulu. The young man worked at
No More Sugar From Hawai`i
For generations sugar production dominated the political, economic, and cultural profile of Hawai`i. At the end of this year the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company, better known as C & H, will process its last crop and lay off its last worker. Parent company Alexander & Baldwin will divide 36,000 acres on Maui into smaller
ART & MINERALS AT LYMAN HOUSE
Do you ever see an announcement of an upcoming exhibit or event and think, ‘I’d like to see that?’ Last April, I saw an article about Nā Kuana`ike Pāheana o Hawai`i: Artistic Perspectives of Hawai`i. It’s on display at Lyman House Museum until September. Hmmm…I’d like to see that…sometime. I promptly forgot all about it
HAPA-HAOLE HAWAIIAN MUSIC – A SAMPLING
Hapa-haole technically means half-foreign, or half Hawaiian and half something else. Musically the term refers to a type of music founded on traditional Hawaiian mele with something added. James Revell Carr suggests King Kalākaua sponsored hula ku`i, a new style of hula accompanied by western instruments, including the guitar, banjo, violin, accordion, and ukulele. From
