Kulaia Lights Up Kaunakakai

Photo by Jack Kiyonaga

Last Friday, the typically quiet streets of Kaunakakai transformed into a bustling festival. Celebrating Na Wahine O Ke Kai and Molokai Hoe canoe races, the Kulaia festival likewise returned to Molokai for the first time since 2019.

Lori-Lei Rawlins-Crivello, event organizer for the festival, explained that originally the plan for this year was just to focus on getting the channel races started again, and not have the festival. However, after interest from the Molokai community and race organizers, the decision was made to put on Kulaia with only three months lead in time.

Photo by Jack Kiyonaga

“It’s been pretty crazy,” said Rawlins-Crivello.

Shutting down the street from Rawlins Service Station to Fish and Dive, the festival brought in 30 Molokai vendors and an estimated more than 3,000 attendees over five hours. With help from various volunteers, including extra muscle provided by the Molokai High School football team, the street filled with benches and pop-up tents, along with a stage and sound system.

Molokai residents and visiting paddlers alike waded through the crowds in search of their favorite foods, race gear, or cultural activities like lomilomi, lei making or poi pounding. Entertainment featured Hawaiian music, hula, and performances from Molokai’s Hawaiian immersion students.

“Kulaia brings a relationship between our Molokai community and the paddling community,” said Rawlins-Crivello.

For Rawlins-Crivello, the festival allows the original spirit of canoe paddling to permeate the famous races.

“What we’re trying to do is bring back the spirit and the cultural aspect of the races,” she explained. “Our kuleana is perpetuating this cultural sport…if there’s anywhere we should have these races, it should be Molokai where they started.”

The Kulaia festival also honored the men’s and women’s crews from Molokai paddling in this year’s Ka’iwi Channel races. It’s the first time in over 20 years that both a men’s and women’s crew comprised entirely of Molokai athletes will compete in Na Wahine O Ke Kai and Molokai Hoe, representing Wa’akapaemua Canoe Club.

The resurgence of the races along with the Molokai crews emphasized this year’s theme of refocusing on the youth, explained Rawlins-Crivello.

“This is the next generation,” she said. “This is our kids coming back and perpetuating wa’a on Molokai.”

In addition to the Molokai crews, the event organizers recognized a member of the Molokai community who embodies the values of Molokai’s unique culture and lifestyle with the Ho’olina Award.

This year’s awardee was Kumu Raquel Dudoit for her leadership of Moana’s Hula Halau.

Dudoit, who has led the legendary hula halau since 2013, offers her teaching for free.

“Everything she does for her halau is all out of aloha,” said Rawlins-Crivello.

With Na Wahine O Ke Kai and Molokai Hoe bringing more than 500 paddlers each to Molokai’s shores, some community members have raised concerns about regulation of nearshore fishing and diving as well as the extremely limited number of flights in and out of Molokai.

“It’s all about finding balance and solutions,” said Rawlin-Crivello. She explained that the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association (OHCRA), which organizes the race, instituted rules and policies intended to address these concerns – including a three-mile fishing buffer zone around Molokai – with possible disqualification as a penalty for breaking them.

Likewise, OHCRA worked with the Hawaii Dept. of Transportation and Maui Public Works to restore the road leading to Hale O Lono, according to OCHRA Communications Manager Polani Mo‘okini.

Mo’okini also explained that OHCRA worked with Molokai residents to facilitate lodging, meals, transportation and more for visiting paddlers.

“OHCRA sends a special mahalo to the community of Molokai for opening their hearts as we celebrate these historic milestones together,” said Siana Hunt, vice president of OCHRA. “It is the intention of OHCRA to capture this history and honor the community members who have been integral in producing this event.”

Friday’s Kulaia festival ran late into the night, wrapping up around 10 p.m. The paddlers, staring down a 41-mile trek across the Ka’iwi Channel on Sunday, headed home a little early.

Check out the next issue of The Molokai Dispatch for our coverage of Na Wahine O Ke Kai.