Palolo Pride event set for this Saturday

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

The eighth annual Palolo Pride Community Celebration will be held Saturday at Palolo District Park and is expected to again draw thousands of people to the cultural event and to honor two youths for their efforts in the community.

The festival was founded to try to counter stereotypes that drugs and crime dominate life in the multi-ethnic valley.

"Every community has some not-so-good stuff happen," said Jay Yukumoto of the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center, one of the event's sponsors. "There is so much good stuff here. It is really a good community. This is just one thing that shows the valley can come together when it needs to."

The theme this year is Ike 'Aina, or Knowledge of the Land, and some of the booths will feature environmental exhibits by the Ala Wai Watershed Association, which conducts clean-ups of Palolo's Waiomao and Pukele streams with residents.

For three years, the Palolo Pride Committee has honored youth in the valley with its Na Waiwai 'O Palolo (Treasures of Palolo Valley) award. There are two winners this year who will be recognized Saturday and their names will join those of previous winners on a colorful mural inside Palolo District Park's gymnasium.

Palolo Elementary School fifth-grader Micah Kaluna is being honored for his change from negative to positive behavior and for working with troubled students to control their anger. He also took on additional responsibilities at school such as raising the flag on Wednesdays when the school's Junior Police Officers were in training.

The second winner is Rona Yap, a graduate of Maryknoll School, for her Girl Scout Gold Award Project that continues to benefit the children in the valley. Yap has collected more than 11,000 books to start a children's library at the Palolo Valley Homes Community Center.

Yap also gave each student at Palolo Elementary three books to keep and read, and organized storytelling sessions for the children with Borders bookstores.

"It is an effort to recognize students for reasons other than academics and sports," said committee member Lynette Cruz. "Not that they can't excel there as well, but if that is the only two criteria we use, there goes almost everybody else. These kids are stoked about the award and so are their parents."

Scheduled entertainment at the festival includes Kahiau, Ernie Cruz and Chino Montero, Common Ground, Guy Cruz, Amy Gilliom, Kolohe, Vibe, Richard & Sonz, Kaikea, Expressions of Hope and Sudden Rush.

A T-shirt designed for the event by Randall Asuega will be on sale. T-shirts from previous years have become collector's items, according to event chairwoman Geneva Carden.

"Everyone sits down, enjoys the music and has a good time," Carden said. "We're hoping for a good turnout and that voters will just walk right over after voting at Jarrett Middle School that day."

Proceeds from the event will benefit park programs and other community programs, Carden said.

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.