Lau Ke Aloha event invites Maui residents to celebrate Hawaiʻi games and native species through art

The Aloha Mākena Foundation, in partnership with Mākena Golf & Beach Club, present the “Lau Ke Aloha: Hawaiʻi Games & Kinolau Native Species Art Creation Day” on Wednesday, June 25 from 2 to 7 p.m. at Mākena’s Hale Pili.

This free event provides a unique opportunity for Maui residents to enjoy Hawaiian games and to create works of art celebrating the island’s native species under the guidance of local artists.

Lau Ke Aloha events are designed to foster deeper connections with ecosystems, community, and self. This particular gathering emphasizes connection through play and creativity, beginning with pāʻani Hawaiʻi (traditional Hawaiian games) to ease the mind and body, making space for expansive creativity. Games encourage alternative approaches to problem-solving, promoting boldness, risk-taking, and we hope sets the space to support the development of innovative, community-generated native species-inspired art.

“Through art, we express the respect and aloha inherent in recognizing native species as family,” says Mākena Golf & Beach Club’s Community Engagement Director Leahi Hall. “Kinolau (multiple forms, bodies) reminds us that we belong to our ecosystem as kin, that my kino (body) is not separate from the kino of the native species. Our Lau Ke Aloha event focuses on art’s ability to inspire deeper connections to our ecosystems, to look a little closer at our native species patterns and colors, and to ultimately create pieces that reflect our shared wellbeing with ʻāina.”

All artworks created at the event will have the opportunity to be showcased online and displayed at Mākena’s upcoming I Mau Ke Aloha fundraising dinner on July 26 benefitting Hawaiʻi Land Trust and Lahaina Community Land Trust. Additionally, Mākena Golf & Beach Club will donate $5 to each of the organizations for every artwork submitted by Maui residents with a goal of 300 submissions.

Participants unable to attend can still engage through online video tutorials and submit artwork via the Lau Ke Aloha website by July 18, 2025.

For event details and registration, tutorials, and submission guidelines, visit www.makenainfo.com/laukealoha.