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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 5:53 p.m., Monday, November 5, 2007

PCC making room for voyaging canoe Iosepa

Advertiser Staff

The Polynesian Cultural Center in La'ie will celebrate its first major renovation since 2003 with a groundbreaking ceremony and blessing tomorrow for Halau Wa'a, which will house the canoe Iosepa.

Iosepa was carved by hand by members of the La'ie community in 2001 for Brigham Young University-Hawai'i. Master carver Tupone Pulotu, a Tongan, led the effort, which included neighbors, schoolchildren and passersby.

The traditional 57-foot, twin-hulled voyaging canoe is part of the school's Center for Hawaiian Language and Cultural Studies program. Students sail the craft as part of the program.