Hōkūleʻa Update | May 15, 2016: Old Town Alexandria Arrival
About 1,000 residents from the Washington DC area gave a grand welcome as she arrived at the Waterfront Park Pier in Old Town Alexandria, VA today at noon (6:00 a.m. HST). The canoe was greeted in the Potomac River by a fireboat from the Alexandria Fire Department. Following the arrival, a Celebration of Friendship with Native Americans from the region and local officials took place at the Waterfront Park. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard also participated in the ceremony, which included cultural performances by the Native American tribes, DC-area hula hālau and students from Kamehameha Schools. Following the Celebration of Friendship, hundreds of people from the community came on board to tour Hōkūleʻa and meet with crew members.
“The mission of Hōkūleʻa extends far beyond sharing the aloha spirit and native Hawaiian culture with people around the world,” said Congresswoman Gabbard. “The mission of Mālama Honua is something that each of us can take and apply in our hearts and our work everyday,” she added.
The arrival marks the first of many community engagements that the Hōkūleʻa crew will participate in throughout the canoe’s two-week visit to the Washington DC area. Following are some of the public events that have been scheduled to date:
Monday, May 16 (1:00 to 4:30 pm)
Canoe Tour
City Marina, 0 Cameron Street, Alexandria, VA
The public is welcome to come aboard the Hōkūleʻa and meet the crewmembers who will share the history of the legendary canoe and the mission of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage.
Monday, May 16 (2:30 to 5:30 pm)
Wa`a (canoe) Talk, followed by private canoe tour
Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N Union Street, Alexandria, VA
A presentation for teachers and educators focused on connecting the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, the values of voyaging, and Hōkūleʻa with classroom content and experiences.
Thursday, May 19 (10:30 am)
“Navigating by the Stars” Presentation
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
Hōkūleʻa’s navigators will talk about traditional wayfinding, navigating across the deep sea using the stars, waves, birds and other signs of nature.
Friday, May 20 (1:00 to 5:00 pm) and Saturday, May 21 (10:00 am to 3:00 pm)
Canoe Tour & National Geographic and National Parks Bioblitz
Washington Canoe Club – Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Park (C&O Canal)
The public is welcome to come aboard the Hōkūleʻa and meet the crewmembers who will share the history of the legendary canoe and the mission of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage.
During the May 20 and May 21 outreach, crewmembers and the public will be invited to help with a Bioblitz activity focusing on plankton. A BioBlitz is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period of time. At a BioBlitz, scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to get an overall count of the plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms that live in a place. May 20 and May 21 mark the National Geographic Bioblitz event dates, in partnership with National Parks Service. Hōkūleʻa crewmembers will conduct a plankton tow activity, adding plankton photos to the C&O National Park Bioblitz data.
Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21 (9:00 am to 5:00 pm)
Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Mālama Honua Exhibit at the National Geographic and National Park Service BioBlitz
The National Mall
Hōkūleʻa crew and Polynesian Voyaging Society staff members will be conducting hands-on activities and lessons on the importance of ocean health and the role of plankton from samples of water taken from the Potomac River. The crew will also celebrate the environmental efforts of the DC community by giving children and adults an opportunity to design their own quilt square with a message of what is special in their local environment and what they want the world to know about the project. The patches will be part of an “Aloha ‘Aina Peace Flag Quilt.” (aloha ‘aina means love of the land in Hawaiian)
Monday, May 23 (1:00 to 5:00 pm)
Canoe Tour
Washington Canoe Club – Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Park (C&O Canal)
The public is welcome to come aboard the Hōkūleʻa and meet the crewmembers who will share the history of the legendary canoe and the mission of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage.
Hōkūleʻa-Inspired Events at National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), throughout May
Throughout the month of May, NMAI will be focusing on Hōkūleʻa’s visit with a film series and weekend festival that will celebrate traditional Polynesian wayfinding, as revived and practiced by the Polynesian Voyaging Society. The month of events will culminate with the Mālama Honua: Hōkūleʻa Worldwide Voyage Celebration, a weekend-long festival taking place on Saturday, May 28, and Sunday, May 29, from 10 am to 5 pm each day. The program will be an opportunity to to meet the navigators and crew from the voyage, enjoy music by Robert Cazimero and Halau Na Kamalei, and to experience a special “pop up” planetarium collaboration with the ʻImiloa’s Astronomy Center and other hands-on activities. For full detail’s on NMAI’s Hawaii program series, please click here: http://www.nmai.si.edu/calendar/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Dseries%26seriesid%3D1318501
More than Adventure
Beyond a daring expedition, the Worldwide Voyage is quite possibly the most important mission that Hawaiʻi has ever attempted. As people of Oceania, we are leading a campaign that gives voice to our ocean and planet by highlighting innovative solutions practiced by cultures around the planet.
We could not have begun this great journey without your support, nor can we continue to its completion.
