Open House event for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art this Saturday

A free open house event for the Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. this Saturday, July 30, on the Great Lawn of the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College Campus in Kahului.

Attendees can review community recommendations made to date, and share new ideas. This free event will offer hula, music and art. Food trucks will be on site to offer dinner and pūpū options for purchase. Attendees are encouraged to bring beach chairs or blankets for seating.

The US Senate Appropriations Committee recently included a federal earmark of $11 million for the project. The earmark is one of the largest for the State of Hawaiʻi.

Dedicated to the study, practice, celebration of hula and various ‘ōiwi arts, the center will be the first of its kind and the largest investment by a county or the state to establish a permanent place for hula and its associated arts.

The open house event is free, and will feature the following Hālau and hana noʻeau:

• Hālau Hula ʻo Ka Malama Mahilani
• Hālu O Ka Hanu Lehua
• Hui No Ke Ola Pono
• Kekai Robinson, Aunty Niolopa Kahanu-Raiser, and Uncle Bill Garcia (multi-generational Native Hawaiian artisans who continue fiber and feather art traditions)
• Maui Nui Botanical Gardens
• Lisa Schattenburg-Raymond & Lei Ishikawa
• Kalapana Kollers
• Makakū Designs