Culture & Art

Nativity Festival Brings Arts Opportunities for Keiki

Thursday, December 12th, 2024

Nativity Festival Brings Arts Opportunities for Keiki

Molokai keiki got into the Christmas spirit on stage during a two-day Christmas Nativity Festival. It was put on by the Hokulani Children’s Theater of Molokai (CTOM), which was established almost two years ago and has continued to generate performing arts opportunities for Molokai kids. Last week, Hokulani CTOM teamed up with other Molokai artists for the inaugural festival.

Featuring a nativity play by the Hokulani CTOM actors, the festival also included performances by the CTOM choir, local singers, the Molokai Middle School Hawaiian Immersion students, and the Molokai Strings Quartet.

“We wanted to highlight all of the things that make Molokai special,” said Vicki Boswell, founder and director of Hokulani CTOM.…

La Ku’oko’a

Thursday, December 5th, 2024

La Ku’oko’a

Last week, Molokai residents had an opportunity to celebrate La Ku’oko’a, or Independence Day for the Kingdom of Hawaii. Honored annually on Nov. 28, the day marks the 1843 recognition of the Kingdom of Hawaii’s sovereignty by England and France, and the work of figures like Timoteo Haʻalilio, William Richards, and George Simpson. 

 

This year, residents celebrated at the Molokai Community Health Center on Nov. 29 with varieties of cultural demonstrations, live entertainment, silk screen printing and more. 

Earlier in the week, a program series dedicated towards Hawaiian history met outside the Molokai Public Library for an afternoon of oli, mele and education about this historic time period.…

Bennett Pottery Annual Open House

Thursday, November 21st, 2024

Bennett Pottery Annual Open House

Bennett Pottery News Release

Bennett Pottery will present its annual show and sale open house from Saturday,
Nov. 30 to Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at his Kala’e studio. The
show will feature finely crafted high-fired functional stoneware and porcelain. These items
are made for home and garden use, such as mugs, bowls, plates and platters, planters, salt
jars, soap dispensers, sponge holders, tea pots, and much more. The objects for sale are
durable for daily use, and are safe in the oven, dishwasher and microwave. You are
invited to come and discover a wide variety of unique quality ceramics found nowhere
else in Hawaii, right here on Molokai.…

Making Art Out of Your Own Backyard

Thursday, November 21st, 2024

Making Art Out of Your Own Backyard

Several Molokai artists put their talents to use teaching residents how to create artful arrangements out of the plants growing in their own backyards. Kala’e Tangonan, Scarlett Ritte and Mokihana Paleka led workshops at the Molokai Land Trust on Nov. 2 geared towards making fun, homemade gifts for the upcoming holidays.

Using koa, pohinahina, eucalyptus, ironwood pines and more, attendees were led through holiday designs, bouquets, and crafts like keychains. The two-hour workshop was accompanied by a plant giveaway from the Molokai Land Trust.…

National Arts Prize Winner Credits Molokai Roots 

Thursday, November 21st, 2024

National Arts Prize Winner Credits Molokai Roots 

One of the most prestigious awards for the arts, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, was recently awarded to Vicky Holt Takamine of Oahu, for her work as a kumu hula and executive director of the PA’I Foundation. With the prize, which includes a cash amount of $450,000, Takamine joins the likes of Robert Redford, Bob Dylan, Spike Lee and more. 

 

While she lives and works over on Oahu, Holt Takamine explained that it was time spent on Molokai as a girl during which she was first exposed to many of the Hawaiian cultural arts she champions today. 

 

Holt Takamine’s family would spend their summers with the Place ‘ohana on Molokai’s east end.…

Prince Kuhio Play Brings History to Life 

Thursday, November 21st, 2024

Prince Kuhio Play Brings History to Life 

As part of the Hawaii Pono’i Coalition, a play honoring the late Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’ole Pi’ikoi came to Molokai for a special performance at Kulana ‘Oiwi. In collaboration with the Ho’olehua Homesteaders Association, the play sought to educate audiences on the biography and character of one of Hawaii’s most famous leaders. 

 

Written by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl and directed by Sammie Choy, the play covers the life of Prince Kuhio. Starting with his early years in Hawaii and adoption by his aunt and uncle Queen Kapi’olani and King Kalakaua, the play follows Kuhio’s journey throughout the turbulent years of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, subsequent rebellion, imprisonment, and eventual career as Hawaii’s delegate to the U.S.…

Play Honoring Prince Kuhio Coming to Molokai

Thursday, November 7th, 2024

Play Honoring Prince Kuhio Coming to Molokai

Hawaii Pono’i Coalition News Release

The Hawaii Ponoʻi Coalition proudly presents Ke Kaua o Ka Lahui: The Life of Prince
Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole Pi‘ikoi, a compelling living history play that captures the essence and
accomplishments of Prince Kuhio. Written by acclaimed playwright Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl and
directed by Sammie Choy, this moving production brings to life the impactful legacy of one of
Hawaii’s most significant leaders and cultural advocates. Originally debuted at ‘Iolani Palace in
September 2022 as part of Hawaiian History Month, this performance returns to deepen
connections to Kuhio’s enduring influence on Hawaiian identity, leadership, and civic
responsibility.
Ke Kaua o Ka Lahui traces the journey of Prince Kuhio from his early years as a young royal to
his lifelong dedication to Hawaii’s people.…

Hawaiian Halloween 

Thursday, November 7th, 2024

Hawaiian Halloween 

With roots in the nearly 2,000-year-old Celtic Samhain festival, Halloween celebrates the strange and inexplicable, the hidden and mysterious. For Hawaii, one legend in particular fits this intersection of the historic and the supernatural: night marchers. 

 

Night marchers are believed to be the spirits of royal warriors, said to walk in procession through certain locations at night. This spectral phenomenon is well known throughout Hawaii.

 

Hawaiian cultural practitioner Kanoe Davis said she’s had first-hand experiences with them. 

 

“I’ve had several encounters,” Davis explained, both in Pala’au State Park and Kawela. Her grandmother also told Davis about her own meetings with night marchers in Kalamaula.…

Festivals of Aloha Kicks Off the Molokai Hoe

Wednesday, October 16th, 2024

Festivals of Aloha Kicks Off the Molokai Hoe

This past weekend, the action continued in what has been a busy few weeks here on Molokai. Festivals of Aloha, operating out of a new location at the Molokai Community Health Center (MCHC), punctuated the return of the Molokai Hoe with a ho’olaule’a last Friday night. Featuring tons of Molokai venders, food and award-winning music, the festival offered the opportunity for paddlers and Molokai residents to mingle before the big race on Sunday.

With the new format at MCHC came novel activities for the festival. After the presentation of the royal court and a performance from Moana’s Hula Halau, guests participated in a series of contests from best poke to aloha wear to top motorcycles and trucks.…

Na Kupuna o Moana o Molokai Win Hula Contest

Thursday, October 10th, 2024

Na Kupuna o Moana o Molokai Win Hula Contest

Community Contributed

By Kim Markham 

Celebrate Molokai!  Na Kupuna o Moana are the overall winners of the 38th annual Kona Kupuna Hula Contest held Sept. 11-12. This contest is the sister competition of the Merrie Monarch, the world championships of hula. Both contests were founded by Kumu Hula George Na’ope. The latter is for hula dancers under age 55 and the former for dancers over age 55.

The senior division of Moana’s Hula Halau was founded by Kumu Hula Moana Dudoit and Raquel Dudoit. When they began over 25 years ago, the dancers were in their 50s and 60s.  Kumu Hula Kanani Brighter led the kupuna until his passing in the year 2000.…