Kids, the small kind and the young at heart, colored the walls purple at the Honolulu Academy of Arts during yesterday's Bank of Hawaii Family Sunday.

A steady stream of parents and small children meandered through the exhibits, watched the entertainment and tasted all things purple — Okinawan sweet potatoes, acai and coleslaw. It was part of a Bank of Hawaii Family Sunday called "ultraViolet," which was held a week earlier than normal because of a scheduling conflict with the Honolulu Academy of Arts' annual food and wine fundraiser.

Sheets of white butcher paper covered the east-side walls surrounding the main courtyard. Scribbles, pictures and doodles covered the paper. First it was black, then it was blue, and then yesterday, two shades of purple were added. At the next Bank of Hawaii Sunday, set for Sept. 21, there will be another layer of color added, said Rui Apaka, a volunteer passing out the purple chalk.

Four-year-old Darius Makua wrote his name on the mural. When he was done, he went to the next sheet and colored in a rectangle.

"I like black because it makes a black Power Ranger," Makua said. "That has the most power."

Watching all the artists standing before the 8-foot sheets, Apaka said she enjoyed observing the differences between adults and children when faced with license to doodle.

"Adults have respect for other people's pictures," Makua said. "They'll actually stay within the lines and stay in a small space. Children will draw on top of someone else's picture or they'll finish someone else's.

"Children will draw whatever is in their minds. Drawing allows them to be so expressive."

As Isabelle Chow came to Apaka to return her purple chalk, she proudly said she wrote her name in Chinese characters on the mural sheets.

"It was hard to find a spot," Chow said. "My hands are really messy now."

Throughout the museum, families found a place where they could make art or appreciate art. In addition to the paper mural, artists were creating their own art using, of course, purple.

Kids made tissue-paper flowers and went on a scavenger hunt in search of different artworks selected through the museum for their hues of purple.

Even the Okinawan Paran Ku dancers wore purple. Pat Davison said the purple headdress is a regular part of their ceremonial costume and actually was taken from the Chinese.

Following her father, Alaina Benson placed her permanent rainbow — made with water, black paper and a drop of clear nail polish — in the sun to dry.

A visitor from the Mainland, the 9-year-old Benson said she had a permanent reminder of the double rainbow she saw over Manoa recently.

"We're just visiting," Benson said. "I'll take this back home. It was really fun today."

Sitting in the shade of the main courtyard was Elaine Carlson. In her hand was her permanent rainbow and the directions on how to reproduce the activity for when she substitute-teaches at Jefferson Elementary School. A resident of Waikiki, Carlson said she had a great time getting involved with the kid crafts activities.

"They do such neat things here for the kids," Carlson said. "It's so enjoyable here."