A community organization in Ka‘u will celebrate Prince Kuhio Day with an event Saturday sharing food, music and fun as they work toward opening a cultural center to honor the people and history of the area.
“We put our blood, sweat and tears into this project, solely for Ka‘u,” said Terry Shibuya of the nonprofit Hana Laulima Lahui o Ka‘u, of which she is the president. The Prince Kuhio Day celebrations serve as “a mini model of the bigger concept of the Ka‘u Hawaiian Cultural Center.”
Hana Laulima has been working toward establishing the Ka‘u Hawaiian Cultural Center since 1994, when the group’s founders saw many families being forced to leave Ka‘u after the last sugar plantation there closed in 1996.
“Every place has its significance. We had Kamehameha the First raised on the mountains here,” Shibuya said of Ka‘u. “We have so much manao here to share that the kids and families need to know to preserve the culture.”
Shibuya explained that Saturday’s ho‘olaule‘a will showcase the important, fun and delicious cultural staples that will be on perpetual display in the forthcoming cultural center, including hula dancing, lei making, poi pounding and imu cooking in the ground.
The free event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Na‘alehu Community Park also will feature a canoe display, traditional games like ulu maika, and live entertainment by the Green Sands Trio, Ka‘u Grown, Backyahd Bruddahs and Halau Hula o Leionalani. The event also will feature informational booths about the Kahuku unit of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust, the Ka‘u Rural Health Clinic, Oahu nonprofit Alu Like, Ka‘u’s Hawaii Wildlife Fund, and more.
Shibuya and her husband, Dane Shibuya, are two of only a handful of the remaining original Hana Laulima board members, who were originally all Native Hawaiians born and raised in Ka‘u.
Dane Shibuya was the founding president of the nonprofit until he joined the Hawaii Police Department. Now that he’s retired, his focus is back to his original form of serving the community: keeping the roots of Ka‘u alive, this time with his wife as the president of Hana Laulima.
Terry Shibuya said many community connections have needed to be re-established multiple times over the 30-plus years the group has been working to mark Ka‘u’s place in Hawaiian history, because several board members have passed on in addition to many new governors and mayors coming into service.
The nonprofit currently has a solid network of partnerships including local businesses, government officials and public agencies working together toward the shared goal of preserving Ka‘u, all of which will be represented at the Kuhio Day event.
The event sponsors include state Rep. Jeanne Kapela, County Council member Michelle Galimba, the Hawaiian Civic Club of Ka‘u, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the Olson Trust, Ka‘u Coffee Mill, Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company, the nonprofit O Ka‘u Kakou, Punalu‘u Bake Shop, Masazo’s Pig Farm, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue’s Ocean View location, and Punalu‘u Black Sand Beach.
Mayor Kimo Alameda has also been invited to attend, which Shibuya sees as a chance to further educate government officials about the need for the Ka‘u Hawaiian Cultural Center.
Shibuya said Hana Laulima has been working hard to acquire land for the center where they can have a long lease, because “we have a longevity plan to see this passed down keiki to keiki to keiki.”
A current blueprint design for the center shows a plan for two traditional single-story buildings alongside an open-air stage and a botanical garden integrated into the surrounding landscape.
Hana Laulima currently has right-of-entry to a 10-acre parcel of land in Waiohinu owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, where they are currently completing an environmental assessment and hoping for a long lease agreement for the property.
“We just keep going, still paddling the waves with our canoe,” Shibuya said. “We’ve got to stand together as one.”
Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
