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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, September 1, 2006

Singing will honor Lili'uokalani's birth

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer

Queen Lili'uokalani's birthday will be marked tomorrow.

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The birthday of Queen Lili'uokalani will be marked tomorrow morning at 'Iolani Palace with one of her favorite pastimes: singing.

It's the latest in a series of events this weekend to honor Hawai'i's last reigning monarch, who was born on Sept. 2, 1838.

The event at the palace, which begins at 10 a.m., is being organized by filmmaker Meleanna Aluli Meyer, Pono Shim and former Royal Hawaiian Band master Aaron Mahi.

"It is a solemn birthday celebration for Lili," Meyer said. "The people will be offering up our voices, our songs and our prayers."

The event is an inclusive one, she said, and organizers are not seeking to push any political views.

Instead, the group is "reaching out to the broader community to invite dialogue and conversation about social justice and what will be best for Hawaiians and Hawai'i in the future," Meyer said.

"We have this day when we want to offer our prayers and song to this woman and let her know that her voice and her thoughts are held deep within us today," she said.

Meyer, who is hoping the event will become an annual one, is in the midst of producing Ku'u 'Aina Aloha, a feature-length documentary about Hawaiians' love of life and the land.

Meyer expects to shoot footage of tomorrow's event for her film.

Meanwhile, the trustees and staff of Queen Lili-'uokalani Trust and Queen Lili-'uokalani Children's Center will commemorate the monarch's birthday with two events.

The 25th annual "A Matter of Maoli" exhibit will run this evening with an art exhibit opening at 6 p.m. and poetry readings beginning at 7. Refreshments will follow.

The center and the trust are also holding a tribute at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Mauna 'Ala, the Royal Mausoleum in Nu'uanu. Parking will be available at the Tenri Cultural Center on Nu'uanu Avenue. Hawaiian attire is requested.

On Sunday, the Washington Place Foundation will honor Li-li'uokalani with an open house at Washington Place, the queen's last residence, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Those participating in the guided tours will be among the first to see the newly renovated "glassed lanai" that was first constructed in 1922. A Bible owned by the queen will be on exhibit.

At 7:30 p.m., the public is invited to an organ recital and choral evensong, an Anglican service, at St. Andrew's Cathedral next door to Washington Place.

The service and program will feature Hawaiian text and choral music. The special guest will be Nalani Olds.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.