Culture & Art

Giving Tree

Friday, January 30th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Kumu Maile Naehu

In early January, a special performance of The Giving Tree was offered at Kaunakakai School Cafeteria by a talented group of performers from Molokai. This group was comprised of 12 keiki ages 5 to 12 who participated in a Winter Hana Keaka (performing arts) class with me, a mini-camp in collaboration with the Molokai Arts Center (MAC).

The Giving Tree was a rich performance that reflected a four-day class with me carefully studying the art of performance. We explored voice, movement and acting and ended in a small culminating performance. The most amazing part of all this was how the deep underlying lessons held in the story were revealed by the performers in a poetic reflection done at the end of the play.…

Honoring Dr. King

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

Honoring Dr. King

On Jan. 17, Molokai paid tribute to a man who left a legacy of equality and social justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was not just observed as a holiday, but as a Day of Service on Molokai, with students gathering on the Public Library grounds to remember the true meaning of the occasion.

Interval House Molokai joined with Aka`ula School and the Molokai Public Library to put on a program that included portions of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in more than half a dozen languages, while Aka`ula School students opened the event with “Music of the Movement,” a civil rights musical celebration.…

Support Art Education

Friday, January 9th, 2015

MAC News Release

The Molokai Arts Center (MAC) announces a special opportunity for you to help support art education in in our community.

Each year, the State of Hawaii and its schools are faced with increasing budget cuts that impact how much art education our youth are exposed to in school. This importance of culture and the arts, and the fact that it is sometimes not readily tangible, even though it impacts our quality of life significantly, is priceless and irretrievable once lost.

This same principle holds true for all artists of all ages and walks of life.

Here is a special way for you to help contribute to increasing access to art education and opportunities on our island of Molokai:  help the Molokai Arts Center through it’s Partnership with the Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc.…

Library of Local Talent

Thursday, December 18th, 2014

Library of Local Talent

Molokai artists ushered in the holidays last week, gathering to share their work at the Public Library in the third annual art show of Molokai Arts Center (MAC) members.

“To me, it’s a chance for the organization to thank individual artists and for them to get some exposure – and to see themselves as professional artists,” said potter Dan Bennett, MAC Treasurer and founding member. “We have to push some to enter because they don’t think their art is good enough, which to me is absurd.”

Art in all colors, shapes and sizes – ranging from the useful to the whimsical – made an appearance at the show, representing at least 30 member artists, Bennett said.…

Hokulea Arrives in Aotearoa

Thursday, November 20th, 2014

Hokulea Arrives in Aotearoa

Polynesian Voyaging Society News Release

Voyaging canoes Hokule`a and Hikianalia made landfall in Aotearoa (New Zealand) last week and were greeted with traditional Maori welcome ceremonies.

When intrepid Hokule`a crewmembers first sailed to Aotearoa 29 years ago using the traditional Polynesian art of non-instrument navigating, they reopened an ancestral route and rekindled the genealogical connection between Hawaiian and Maori. Now, Hokule`a has returned, with its sister canoe Hikianalia, carrying with her many of the original crewmembers, as well as three from Molokai.

Mel Paoa, Keoki Pescaia and Mahina Hou Ross were among the Hawaiian crewmembers that were ferried to the shoreline by paddlers of the traditional Maori waka Nga Toki Matawhaorua, and then carried ashore on the shoulders of hosting Maori tribe members of Nga Puhi.…

Bennett Pottery Celebrates 40 Years

Thursday, November 20th, 2014

Bennett Pottery Celebrates 40 Years

Bennett Pottery News Release

On Nov. 29, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bennett Pottery celebrates 40 years of making ceramics on Molokai.  Since 1974, potter Dan Bennett has been creating unique stoneware and porcelain utilitarian ware at a reasonable cost for the Molokai community.  Bennett is a founding member of the Molokai Arts Center (MAC) and teaches ceramics for University of Hawaii Maui College on site, as well as beginning and intermediate classes for adults.  He can be found at the MAC teaching three days each week.

Aside from a wide range of pottery designed for functional use, this year features some small sculpture pieces of animals and structures, as well as work from salt and raku firings.…

Molokai’s Own Named Statewide Educator of the Year

Thursday, October 30th, 2014

Molokai’s Own Named Statewide Educator of the Year

Every day, Molokai teachers nurture our students in the classroom, spend hours of their own time preparing lessons and assisting youth in afterschool programs, and carry the weight of ensuring the success of the future generation. One Molokai educator was recognized in particular this year for doing it all with grace, and going above and beyond her job description. Molokai Middle School (MMS) Hawaiian Language Immersion teacher `Iolani Kuoha received the Hawaii Association of Middle Schools Educator of the Year award last weekend – and she said she accepted the honor on behalf of her fellow teachers.

“I represent not only myself but all the teachers,” she said.…

Healing of an Island

Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

For 50 years beginning during World War II, the island of Kaho`olawe was rocked by bombs, dropped by the U.S. military for naval training. Hawaii residents recall hearing the explosions and feeling the ground shake as missiles left gouges in the earth. Now, after decades of protest efforts, cultural reconnection and environmental restoration, a process of healing is continuing as a strategic plan is being developed to guide Kaho`olawe’s future.

Once a spiritual and cultural center for Native Hawaiians, trespassing on Kaho`olawe was prohibited for half a century. In the early 1970s, people began questioning those laws, and in 1976, the Protect Kaho`olawe `Ohana (PKO) formed and filed a suit in federal court to stop the bombing.…

Molokai Finishes Strong in Ka`iwi Channel

Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

Molokai Finishes Strong in Ka`iwi Channel

Before the 62nd Molokai Hoe, Bozo Dudoit, coach and steersman of Molokai’s Wa`akapaemua Canoe Club open men’s crew, laid out two main objectives for his team.

“My goal is to be in the top ten 10 of the local finishers and top 20 overall,” said Dudoit, a Molokai Hoe veteran who has been competing in paddling’s premier event for 24 years now.

Wa`akapaemua, the host island’s only team in the race, check-marked both goals on Sunday. The crew finished in 14th place overall with five hours, 37 minutes and three seconds. Among the local teams, Molokai finished ninth.

Taking first place overall was Tahitian crew Edt Va`a 1, which finished in four hours, 51 minutes and 43 seconds.…

Molokai Crewmembers Join Hokule`a Voyage

Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

Molokai Crewmembers Join Hokule`a Voyage

Three Molokai residents have departed on a journey to follow the path of their ancestors across oceans and change the way the world views our environment. Last week, Mel Paoa, Mahina Hou Ross and Keoki Pescaia left for American Samoa to join Hawaiian double-hulled voyaging canoes Hokule`a and Hikianalia as they set sail for the northwestern tip of Aotearoa (New Zealand).

“The Molokai community fully supports these crewmembers as Hokule`a represents all of us, coming together to protect the places, values, and traditions that we love,” said Paoa, Molokai’s first voyaging captain for Hokule`a.

This week, they are sailing to Vava`u in Tonga, about 320 miles from Pago Pago Harbor in American Samoa, where they waited for favorable weather to depart on the first portion of the trip to Aotearoa.…