Kupuna, keiki and everyone in between enjoyed a day of entertainment, crafts food and activities Saturday at the Tanabata Festival at the Regency Hualalai.
Tanabataa, also known as the Star Festival, is a Japanese festival that celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, represented by the stars Vega and Altair. According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month.
The festivities began with taiko drumming and a bon dance, followed by a Kagami Biraki ceremony.
The sake Kagami Biraki involves presenting a wooden barrel of iwai-zake (“celebration sake”) to the celebrants at the beginning of the event. The barrel on Saturday was provided by Sake Islander Brewery, which is located at the Hapuna Golf Course. The round, wooden lid of this barrel was ceremoniously broken open with a wooden mallet handled by Regency Hualalai General Manager Gilberto Ramirez. This represented breaking open good fortune. Samples of the sake were distributed to visitors and residents who raised their cups to a resounding collective “kanpai”.
Festival goers were treated to a variety of activities including making woven lauhala stars, a Japanese wishing tree, entertainment, face painting and origami.
Regency’s Executive Chef was on hand making chicken skewers and hot dogs on the outdoor grill while tours of the facility were held.
“This is exciting and fun,” said Regency’s Life Enrichment Director Ryan Kundrath. “It gets people in our doors to see what we are all about, that we are part of the community.
He said community involvement is important to the over 100 residents of the facility, and he is always looking for organizations to share their talents. “This is not a facility, it is a community. The residents are my boss. I seek organizations to come and enrich the community through performances, teaching and sharing,” he said.