Piles of lei of love, all for Kamehameha
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
The plumeria were everywhere, intensely fragrant and piled on wooden tables, stuffed in plastic bags and in drink coolers.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
It was a small lei-making assembly line, set up as it is every year at this time, in the shadow of the King Kamehameha statue on King Street.
Yesterday afternoon's ceremony at the King Kamehameha statue included a performance by Halau Hula Olana. The draping of lei on the statue was prelude to today's parade; the official Kamehameha Day holiday is Wednesday.
And just as they do every year, the volunteer lei makers were there to work their magic, stringing one yellow-centered blossom at a time.
After hours of work, they would have enough lei to honor Kamehameha the Great in an annual display of respect. The 131st Annual King Kamehameha Celebration commemorates the memory of King Kamehameha I.
"This is a way of giving back to King Kamehameha," said Lynnette Aea, a member of 'Ahahui Ka'ahumanu and one of a dozen lei makers working hard yesterday morning not far from the statue where tourist shutterbugs clicked away.
"I'm here to honor him," Aea said.
"And to present him with lei of aloha."
Aea's hands moved rhythmically, blossom to lei needle, blossom to lei needle. She and the dozen friends around her had more than 15,000 plumeria to string.
"This is what we do," said Aquanetta Sonognini, who sat nearby.
"Sometimes we have a lot of people and not enough flowers. Sometimes we have a lot of flowers and not enough people."
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
But it is always a long day of stringing. And talking.
Ryan Chong of the Honolulu Fire Department drapes the King Kamehameha statue with lei made by volunteers. The statue is decorated every year in preparation for Kamehameha's birthday anniversary.
"This gives us a chance to talk," said Eloise Bruns, vice president of the Ka'ahumanu society. "We talk nonsense, business and tell stories about our families. It's social. We keep our hands busy, as fast as our mouths are going."
Draping the statue with lei yesterday afternoon was a prelude to the Kamehameha parade, which starts at 9:30 a.m. today at the intersection of King and Richards streets. While traditionally the parade is held on a Saturday, the official holiday in observance of the king's birthday is June 11.
Keahi Allen watched the lei stringers and smiled. She has been a part of the celebration activities for 30 years and though she has "retired" from any formal participation, she was there yesterday. She wouldn't have missed it for anything.
The volunteers are driven by deep feelings, she said. And their help is vital to the events.
"I think it's a sense of pride and wanting to see the events accomplished with dignity," she said.
Allen's family has been doing this for five generations. Her mother, the late Napua Stevens Poire, was an emcee for years, and her grandchildren help now.
"You have to press your family into working," she said with a laugh.
"You tell them it's a matter of culture and pride, and they come out and do it."
One blossom at a time.
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
The Kamehameha statue seems to beckon firefighter Ryan Chong as he cloaks the king.
Aya Sato of Japan, applauding in foreground, was among the dozens of people who took in the lei-draping ceremony.
Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Seth Cozo, 10, of Halau Hula Olana dances at yesterday's ceremony in front of Allilani Hale.
Dozens of volunteers worked to string the lei that adorn the Kamehameha statue.
Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Correction: King Kamehameha Day commemorates the memory of King Kamehameha I. A description of the holiday was incorrect in a previous version of this story.
