Tributes planned for Lili'uokalani
Advertiser Staff
Several events will honor the 165th anniversary of Queen Lili'uokalani's birth today, including services at Mauna 'Ala (the Royal Mausoleum) and a play about Hawai'i's last reigning monarch.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
The public is invited to services in the queen's memory beginning at 10 a.m. today at Mauna 'Ala at 2261 Nu'uanu Ave., according to officials at Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center.
Malia and Billy Brennan of Kahala tend to a floral tribute blown over by the wind at the statue of Queen Lili'uokalani. Today is the queen's birthday, and several events have been scheduled in commemoration.
Ho'okupu (offerings) of flowers and lei will be accepted at the royal crypt. Those who wish to participate should wait until after the departure of the Royal Guards to present their gifts.
Free parking will be available at Tenri Cultural Center, 2236 Nu'uanu Ave.
Ka Lei Maile Ali'i Hawaiian Civic Club is sponsoring a play titled "Ka Lei Maile Ali'i: The Queen's Women" at 6 tonight on the grounds of 'Iolani Palace at the Kanaina building. Additional sponsors include the "The Living Nation" and Native Books/Na Mea Hawai'i.
Sponsors said the play is a re-enactment of a gathering of the queen's supporters in Hilo, Hawai'i in 1897 as outlined at the time in the San Francisco Call by reporter Miriam Michelson.
Those planning the play said this presentation honors both the queen and the women who stood with her throughout her life, including Emma Aima Nawahi, Abigail Kuaihelani Maipinepine Campbell and Kahalewai Cummins.
Later this month, the Friends of 'Iolani Palace is planning "The Grand Luau 2003," which also will honor the queen's birthday, Sept. 2, 1838.
The Friends of 'Iolani Palace will present director emeritus Elia Long with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the lu'au, a fund-raiser for 'Iolani Palace, from 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 28 on the palace grounds.
