Ala Wai Community Fair & Hokulea Arrival
For those of you who didn’t get the chance to join us at the Ala Wai Community Fair & Hōkūleʻa Arrival last month, we’d like to share with you some photos from the event, that on the cusp of Earth Day, drew scores of students, community leaders, voyagers and individuals.
Just after dawn on Friday, April 19, some 60 students representing schools from the Ala Wai watershed area (Halau Ku Mana, SEEQS, Voyager, Iolani School, Punahou, Kaimuki High School, Mid-Pacific Institute, Maryknoll and Ānuenue) all boarded Hōkūleʻa at the Waikiki Yacht Club to make the short sail up the Ala Wai to the Hawaiʻi Convention Center.
Besides the chance of a lifetime to sail aboard Hawaiʻi’s favorite canoe, voyagers from the Polynesian Voyaging Society needed the young crew in order to weigh down Hōkūleʻa enough to pass below the Ala Moana Blvd. bridge. These youth represent the next generation of young navigators charting the way to a sustainable Hawaii, and a sustainable world.
Led by master navigator Nainoa Thompson, the crew arrived to 80 students and hundreds of spectators the canoe at the Ala Wai Promenade adjacent to the Hawaiʻi Convention Center. Arrival protocol included lei giving and chanting including Auē Ua Hiti Ē.
Governor David Ige, Palau Republic president Tommy Remengesau, and ambassadors from the United Nations were on-hand to share about the growing advancement of sustainability goals for our state and the globe.
Polynesian Voyaging Society president Nainoa Thompson shared about the synergistic efforts happening both in Hawaiʻi and around the globe. He spoke about how Hōkūleʻa and the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage helped to inspire this global movement and how the Mahalo, Hawaiʻi Sail reflected the support of Hawaiian communities and gave impetus to continue forging ahead.
Much of the fair also included a dialog about the health of the notoriously polluted Ala Wai Canal a demonstration conducted by EM Hawaii, LLC showed how Genki Balls, mud balls that contain microorganisms that help remove pollutants contained in the sludge that has gathered over the years at the bottom of the canal.
About 20 organizations and schools shared what they are doing to revitalize the Ala Wai at the Mālama Ala Wai Community Fair. These groups included BWS/DFM SWQB, Surfrider Foundation, Ala Wai/Kakaako Neighborhood Board, DOFAW, Blue Zones Project, Manoa Heritage Center, OCCSR, Outdoor Circle, PBR Hawaiʻi, Roth Ecological, SMART Ala Wai, Smart Trees Pacific, Sustainable Coastlines, Trees to Seas, UH Manoa Office of Sustainability, Waterkeeper Alliance, Lyon Arboretum, WIRED Pacific American Foundation, Ka Papa Loʻi o Kānewai, EM Hawaiʻi LLC, HART.
PVS would like to thank the all the participating students and their kumu, the State of Hawaiʻi, supporting organizations, local and global leaders, as well as the support of from crewmembers and volunteers who helped make the event a success. A special mahalo as well to our event sponsor Royal Hawaiian Center for supporting the legacy of Hōkūleʻa and the movement to mālama honua.
