28th Annual Kūhiō Fest April 1 in Paukūkalo

Uncle Richard Ho`opi`i received a 1996 National Endowment for the Arts’ Folk Heritage Fellowship for preservation of the Hawaiian art of leo ki`eki`e, or falsetto singing. Uncle Richard entertains at 11 a.m. Saturday at the 28th annual Prince Kuhio Day Celebration at Paukukalo homestead in Wailuku.
PC: 11th Annual Maui ‘Ukulele Festival, Richard Hoʻopiʻi, credit Aubrey Hord Photography.

A falsetto and ʻukulele master considered a national treasure, a kalo cookoff and an oratory contest headline the 28th annual Prince Kūhiō Day Celebration on Saturday, April 1, 2017 at Paukūkalo homestead.

Falsetto virtuoso Uncle Richard Hoʻopiʻi of Kahakuloa tops day-long entertainment at the free Kūhiō event from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The lineup features the Puʻuwai musical group at 10 a.m., followed by Hoʻopiʻi at 11 a.m.; Nā Wai ʻEha trio at noon; Homestead band at 1 p.m., and recording artist Kaniala Masoe at 2 p.m.

The celebration opens with a procession of royal Hawaiian societies and homestead leaders at 9 a.m., with an oratory contest at 9:30 a.m. reviving the political-soapbox tradition of Kūhiō’s era, plus an inaugural Kūhiō Kalo Cookoff at 11:30 a.m.

The event also features arts, crafts, foods, community-information booths and Project Vision Hawaiʻi free health screenings.

The homegrown trio, Nā Wai `Eha, entertains at noon Saturday at the free Prince Kūhiō Day Celebration at Paukūkalo homestead. The group features Kamalei Kawa`a (from left), Kason Gomes and Kamaehu Kawa`a.

The SCHHA Maui Mokupuni, host Paukūkalo Hawaiian Homes Community Association and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs co-sponsor the event honoring Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole (1871-1922).

The islands mark his March 26 birthday with a state holiday.

Kūhiō was a Territorial Congressional delegate saluted as the Father of the federal 1920 Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and native Hawaiian homestead program.

He also founded the Hawaiian civic club movement; restored the Royal Order of Kamehameha, and originated the county governance structure.

The SCHHA, or Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly, is the oldest and largest coalition of homestead associations unified to protect and advocate for the interests of Hawaiian Homes Commission Act beneficiaries.

Kaniala Masoe. Courtesy file photo from organizers of the 6th Annual Hāna Limu Festival

For event information and for oratory-contest and kalo-cookoff entry forms, contact event co-chairwoman Carol at (808) 264-9385 or email hynmahi@yahoo.com.