4th Annual Grow Hawaiian Festival Dates Announced
Lei Contest, Cultural Demonstrations, Ask-the-Experts
Captain Cook, HI….The 4th Annual Grow Hawaiian Festival at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook on the Big Island of Hawai’i, will be held Saturday, February 23, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Admission is FREE!
Weavers, hula dancers, kapa makers, and other practitioners of traditional Hawaiian culture meet with biologists, conservationists, and horticulturists to explore their common passion for the native and Polynesian introduced plants of Hawai‘i. Festival-goers have a unique opportunity to meet and talk with many of the foremost practitioners of Hawaiian arts like lei maker Marie MacDonald or lauhala weaver Elizabeth Lee, as well as leading scientists like botanist Clyde Imada or entomologist David Preston.
The festival includes cultural demonstrators, ask-the-expert booths, and displays by schools, parks, and conservation organizations. There will be a continuing program of speakers and panels on the main stage throughout the day, activity areas for young and old, and plate lunches by Super-J’s. At 10 a.m. there will be a special garden tour highlighting plants used by hula practitioners. The tour, sponsored by the Bishop Museum Association Council through their Traditions of the Pacific lecture and workshop program, will include a discussion about the uses and symbolism of plants found in the garden and which are used in hula. The tour will be jointly led by one of the garden’s ethnobotanists and a guest hula practitioner.
On the main stage, the program will be a mix of cultural insights, entertainment, and fascinating accounts by leading conservationists and botanists. There is never a dull moment with Tom Cummings and Kealoha Kelekolio as masters of ceremony--they are well known story-tellers who work with Bishop Museum’s Education Department and they fit in a number of their dramatic presentations on traditional themes during the day. Bill Garnett will discuss his successful out-planting techniques in one session, and a roundtable of well-known cultural practitioners including Marie MacDonald will bring their personal stories of plants and planting before the audience. Kanu o ka ‘Āina will open and close the program with chants, and Ulali’a Berman and her dancers will provide an interlude of hula.
Cultural demonstrators will be available all day for visitors to meet and talk story about their specialties. The Kona Weavers Club, an informal group that meets once a month at Amy Greenwell Garden to weave, will be at the festival making hats, mats, and other items from lauhala. Lei maker Maile Napoleon will demonstrate different lei making techniques and help entrants with their entries for a special lei making contest held during the event. Michael Harburg will be on hand with the Kona Gourd Society demonstrating the art of gourd decoration. Lisa Schattenburg from Maui Nui Botanical Garden brings a beautiful display of native plant dyes and explains how she makes them.
For those seeking hands-on experiences, there are many activities to choose from. George Place will help festival-goers create their own art with ‘ohe kapala, traditional bamboo stamps. Nancy Redfeather will make ti leaf leis with children and adults alike. Weary attendees can refresh themselves with a lomilomi massage from Wes Sen and his students. Kau‘hane Morton will help participants make, tune, and blow their own ‘ohe hano ihu—bamboo nose flute.
One of the most popular activities at previous festivals is a guided tour of Amy Greenwell Garden led by David Orr, curator of collections at Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden on O‘ahu. His deep knowledge of native plants and enduring passion for conservation make this tour a must-do event for garden lovers and conservationists in West Hawai‘i.
This year’s festival will introduce an informal lei contest. Everyone is invited to present lei in categories of na lei pua ‘ole (lei with no flowers), lei hapa haole (lei featuring exotic plants), lei haku, and an open category. Lei can be prepared beforehand or made during the festival with help from expert lei-maker Maile Napoleon.
The festival provides an extraordinary opportunity for people to ask experts for advice on all manner of things biological or horticultural. Bring your mystery plants or bugs to the festival to get them identified! Clyde Imada of Bishop Museum and Marie Breugmann of USFWS between them can name almost any plant from the garden or native forest. Pat Conant (Hawai’i Dept. of Agriculture) and David Preston (Bishop Museum) will do likewise with any insect, whether an imported pest or native treasure, brought before them.
Jerry Konanui, noted taro expert will be on hand to identify taro varieties and answer questions about cultivating the traditional staple crop, and Ed Johnston, editor of the new definitive book on ‘awa, will help farmers and gardeners understand the art of growing this important and beautiful plant. The Kona Master Gardeners will be available for garden consultation nearby. Unusual bananas and other rare fruit can be identified by Ken Love of the Hawai‘i Tropical Fruit Growers Society.
At the many booths in the festival, conservation experts will be ready to talk to visitors about projects on Kaua’i, Moloka’i, Maui, and Hawai’i. Experts like Dave Bender of National Tropical Botanical Garden who has worked extensively on Kaua’i as well as Hawai‘i, and Bill Garnett, who has been restoring landscapes for many years on O’ahu and Moloka’i will discuss planting techniques and maintenance challenges. Christina Hoffman will be available to talk about the restoration work done by TREE Hawai‘i in West Hawai‘i, and representatives of schools and conservation groups will be on hand to describe their projects.
For more information call (808) 323-3318. Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden is Bishop Museum’s native plant facility located in Captain Cook on Hawai‘i Island. The Garden is located twelve miles south of Kailua-Kona on Highway 11, just south of mile marker 110.
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This project is funded under the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government
This project is an initiative under the Office of Innovation and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education. Education through Cultural & Historical Organizations, also known as ECHO, provides educational enrichment to Native and non-Native children and lifelong learners.
The 4th Annual Grow Hawaiian Festival is supported in part by a grant from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA), in partnership with the County of Hawai’i through the County Product Enrichment Program (CPEP). It is one of the HTA’s Festivals of Hawai‘i, celebrating diversity and aloha throughout Hawai‘i.
Support for this program is also provided by Kuki’o
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The Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden is part of the Bishop Museum, a private non-profit dedicated to inspiring people to experience and embrace the Pacific and its various cultures. The garden itself seeks to support the Hawaiian traditions of land and plant use, and conserve the plant resources of traditional cultural activities. The garden features more than 200 species of endemic, indigenous, and Polynesian introduced flora, as well as 5 acres of archeological remains of the ancient Hawaiian agricultural system, known as the Kona Field System.
The Garden is located in Captain Cook, 12 miles south of Kailua-Kona, between the 110 and 11 mile markers of the Mamalahoa Highway. The garden welcomes all visitors from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Admission to the garden is by donation, suggested at $4.
These and other programs are supported by the Bishop Museum, the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program (NHCAP), and the Education through Cultural and Historical Organizations (ECHO). For more information, contact Noa Lincoln, Garden Educator, at (808) 323-3318; by fax at (808) 323-2394; or email agg@bishopmuseum.org. Or Visit the web site at: http://www.bishopmuseum.org/exhibits/greenwell/greenwell.html.
-pau-