Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 9, 1 September 2010 — ʻOnipaʻa [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻOnipaʻa

Sun., Sept. 5, Onipa'a Celebration Sun.-Fri., Sept. 5-10, Mai Poina Walking Tours www.huiohawaiiponoi.org Hawai'i's last reigning monarch will be celebrated with mele, hula and cultural demonstrations at 'Iolani Palaee at the fourth annual 'Onipa'a Celebration honoring Queen Lili'uokalani on Sunday, Sept. 5. The event presented by Hawai'i Pono'I and sponsored in part by OHA, Coalition begins at 10 a.m. and goes through 4 p.m. with performances by the Royal Hawaiian Band, Ierry Santos and Olomana, Weldon Kekauoha, Hālau Nā Pualei O Likolehua and Hālau Ka La 'Ōnohi Mai O Ha'eha'e, as well as a noon church service. 'Iolani Palaee will offer free admission throughout the day. In the evening, the

;oalition presents the •eturn of the popular historic walking tours interpreting four pivotal days leading up to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. The Mai Poina Walking Tours are co-sponsored by the Center for Bio2raDhical Research

and the Hawai 'i Council for the Humanities, with additional support from the "We The People" initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Four walking tours will be presented eaeh evening from Sept. 5 to 10. Admission is free, but space is limited. Call 262-5900 to reserve spaces on the tours, whieh will be held nightly at 5, 5:20, 5:40 and 6. "The Hawai'i Pono 'ī Coalition has been presenting the 'Onipa'a celebration since 2007 to commemorate Queen Lili'uokalani's birthday," said eoalhion member Leimomi Khan, President of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs. "It's a wonderful celebration of our Queen, who was a ehampion of peaee and social justice. And it's our way of sharing her story and our culture with visitors and kama'āina alike." The Mai Poina walking tours were first presented in 2009 and proved to be inunensely popular. Over the tour's four-night run, an estimated 700 people traveled back in history to the days leading up to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. Written by localplaywright Victoria Kneuhuhl, the tours present dramatic interpretations of history at six stations at and around the 'Iolani Palaee. "This is a wonderful way to educate visitors and residents about Hawai'i's history," said Craig Howes, Director of the UH Center for Biographical Research. "Our center was founded to facilitate and encourage the study and practice of biography in all its fonns, and we hope to see several hundred people learning history in this engaging way." Founded in 2007, the Hawai'i Pono'ī Coalition is a consortium of Native Hawaiian-serving organizations dedicated to telling the true history of Hawai'i. ■