King shines in all his floral splendor

By Derek Paiva and Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writers

The King Kamehameha Statue after the draping at the Ali'iolani Judiciary Building, which drew awe from both locals and tourists. Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser

Honolulu firefighters helped drape lei over the King Kamehameha Statue in the annual event. Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser

Dancers of Halau Hula Olana were among those entertaining crowds yesterday. Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser

Curious crowds gathered to take pictures of the lei before the draping ceremony. Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser

Ella Kekuewa Howard, 89, of 'Aiea, has participated in the annual lei stringing for nearly 20 years. She says it gives her a warm feeling that she wants to share with others. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I'll do it as long as I can," said the Kamehameha Schools student, sagely. "It's fun dancing here."

Along with his other youngish peers in Halau Hula Olana, Clark was looking sharp yesterday in a crisp blue aloha shirt and trouser combo, lei of bright yellow and orange blossoms around his neck. His halau and others entertained as workers cloaked the King Kamehameha statue in lei as the 132nd annual weeklong King Kamehameha Celebration kicked off with a program of music, hula and lots of blossoms.

Behind the halau, firefighters on a ladder truck from the Kaka'ako Fire Station had just draped a final 30-foot-long strand of plumeria around the statue of the legendary king who united the Hawaiian Islands. Strong mountain breezes wafted through the dozens of long lei strung from the arms and neck of the 20-foot-high statue at the Ali'iolani Judiciary Building, sending stray blossoms and their wonderful fragrance floating above the several hundred assembled.

After three hours of ceremony, a halau performed a program-concluding tale of King Kamehameha's journey from Kaua'i to O'ahu. That was more than visitor Harlan Sanders — not the famous fried chicken colonel — could take without sharing.

"Can you hear that?" said Sanders into his wireless phone before holding it aloft for the benefit of his girlfriend in Knoxville, Tenn. "That's live, hon! Oh, this is so beautiful! Someone even shared an extra lei with me. ... Uh-huh, he was once the king of the state."

"The Islands, actually," a woman near him politely corrected.

The crowd gathered for the program consisted mostly of camera-clutching tourists — from both east and west — mixed with a good number of local folks. A few people were even picnicking under the trees.

"There's 15,000 plumeria, 3,000 to 4,000 orchids, and I haven't even gotten to the bouganvillea, carnation and everything else," said statue decoration chairwoman Candace Lee, after singing along with the crowd to "Hawai'i Aloha." "We didn't get as many lei as we expected this year. We were expecting just a little bit more."

Lee cited the Kamehameha Day holiday falling the day before the parade as the reason, as fewer people heading into town for work meant fewer drive-by floral donations for lei. As usual, volunteer lei makers had set up under a tent near the site since before sunrise accepting flowers and quickly stringing them.

"But this tribute of lei is still fitting to the ali'i and his legacy," Lee said. "This is what it's all about."

Earlier yesterday, more than a dozen members of the Ahahui Ka'ahumanu royal society were busy stringing lei for statue draping. On a grassy area across from the statue, volunteers sat under a tent to shade themselves from the mix of sunshine and morning showers.

They picked through piles of plumeria on tables, in plastic bags, on cardboard soda cases and in coolers to meet their goal of 75 to 100 lei. Thousands of blossoms were transformed into 30-foot-long garlands.

Koa Salazar, 5, carefully poked plumeria through a foot-long lei needle as he sat next to his grandmother, who was rhythmically stringing the blossoms with her faster, more experienced hands.

"A lei is a symbol of love," said Cecilia Akim, 61, of Punalu'u, concentrating on the garland forming before her. ... "and I think it's one of our best ways to show our love for the king."

While making lei was a way for the volunteers to honor the king, it was also a time for them to catch up with loved ones.

"It's a gathering time when we get together and talk story and just have fun," said Kathy Shriver, 50, of 'Aiea. Shriver was stringing plumeria blossoms with her sister and two nieces, including Kelly Higa , 23.

"It also connects the past to the present," said Higa, of Mililani. "Especially as we're growing older, it gives you an understanding of your cultural history."

"Doing this gives me a warm feeling that I share with the others," Howard said. "We love one another. ... It's just a party in itself."

The lei draping is "a tradition to celebrate a leader who unified our islands," event chairwoman Lee said.

Gazing proudly at the lei draping the entire length of Kamehameha's arms and nearly topping his head, Lee paused briefly and smiled as setting sun set off the gold of the king's cape.

"Now I'm on my way to get the parade vehicles ready for tomorrow," she said.

Reach Derek Paiva at 525-8005 or dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com. Reach Zenaida Serrano at 535-8174 or zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.