VIDEO: Maui’s Lei of Aloha Delivered to Orlando

Lei of Aloha. Image credit: WFTV.com. Photographers: Dave Ater and Carl Hargrove.

*Video credit: WFTV.com

A mile long Lei of Aloha from Maui was placed at three memorial sites in Orlando on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, as a demonstration of good will and a reflection on the 49 people who lost their lives in last week’s night club shooting.

Six Maui delegates and around 20 hālau met up in Florida to deliver the lei and conduct cultural protocol at the memorial sites.

The six Maui delegates included Ron Panzo, Kawika Sabado, Joe Tolbe, Tom Zaizar, Lehua Kekahuna and Stacey Moniz.  They were backed nearly 200 volunteers who helped by donating ti leaves and weaving the lei over several days at Nalu’s South Shore Grill in Kīhei.

Lei of Aloha. Image credit: WFTV.com. Photographers: Dave Ater and Carl Hargrove.

The team has since completed their mission and departed from Orlando at around 7 a.m., arriving back in Kahului, Maui at 1 p.m. today.

There will be a blessing for the six delegates and any volunteers that helped with the lei at the Kīhei 4th Friday event on July 22 at 6 p.m. to mark the celebration of community.

Many of the participants were among the same group who organized a mile-long lei for Paris after last November’s bombing overseas.