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Wakinikona Hawaiian club has a founding member that hails from the Big Island of Hawai'i named Larry Kamehele. Larry has been with our club for 53 years and is a master story teller of Hawaiiana and a master lei maker in his prime. He is a wealth of cultural knowledge and an asset to our club. Every month Larry write a newsletter sharing his knowledge of Hawaiiana. Please enjoy the read and post comments if you are so endeared to below!  Come and joint Hui Wa'a O Wakinikona for our Na Po'e o ke Kai Sprint Regatta races at Green Lake from 8-4 pm. If you never experienced outrigger canoe racing in is a great event to witness the ultimate in teamwork. Come and observe the explosive " horse power" and energy in the water to propel a outrigger canoe in a short distance with 6 people on board. Our race also features the best raffle of all the Pacific Northwest Canoe regattas! We are lucky enough to have skilled craftsmen and crafters who donate items for the raffle. Tickets are $ 1 per ticket or 6 tickets for $ 5.00 ! You could be the lucky one that wins display of a Hawaiian fish hook made by one of our members, Vern! Come meet Vern and Participate in our raffle. Raffle drawing is on or about 1:30 pm and you do not need to be present to win,  CLUB QUIETLY MARKS ITS 53RD BIRTHDAY It was Hauoli la hanau (Happy Birthday) for the Wakinikona Hawaiian Club at our April meeting/potluck on Sat, Apr 23rd at the Newport Hills Swim & Tennis Club in Bellevue. We had about 20 members, plus guests who enjoyed dinner including a couple of Hawaiian kine food items and a big cake to celebrate this special occasion. There was some time for kanikapila involving several long-time members of the club. Most notably among the singers and musicians were Larry Kamahele, Reidar Smith and Peter Nova. It was a treat to see and then hear Peter as he has been slowed by a stroke over a year ago. It never ceases to amaze how music and good friendship can put a spark in a person’s life. Keep chugging along, Peter! See photo
Following up on an item in last month’s newsletter, a couple of WHC members attended the Hawaiian community meeting on Hawaiian Self Governance on Sun, May 1st at the APCC in Tacoma. It was a good opportunity coordinated by April Baker from the Moku Aina a Wakinekona Hawaiian Civic Club (MAWHCC) to hear a variety of differing opinions, historical perspectives, corrections and clarifications of misinformation, and some broadening of understanding on a couple of issues. We were very fortunate to have in attendance a Hawaiian who was born and educated here in the PNW who was visiting his parents. Derek Kaunoe is a lawyer serving as OHA’s governance manager and, thus has extensive knowledge about all the divisive issues surrounding Hawaiian selfgovernance. His comments were his personal insights and not speaking on behalf of OHA. Some takeaways: —If you haven’t already done so, get yourself enrolled in Kanaiolowalu at www.kanaiolowalu.org —Go to the new website to learn more about this current effort on Hawaiian nation building-- www.HawaiianNation.com —Share all of this with your ‘ohana. Encourage them to similarly enroll, so they can vote when the time comes. We’re forming a lahui and they need to be on board to have their voices heard  Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers, grandmothers and no forget the hanai ones too! Ohana is important! Cherish it , celebrate it and take a moment today and reflect on this today. Aloha o'e !
 May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii Nei.” This popular phrase in the islands prevents anyone from forgetting this special day. It was Don Blanding, a writer and poet, who first suggested that a holiday should be dedicated to the beautiful Hawaiian tradition of making and wearing lei. But it was Grace Tower Warren, also a writer, who came up with the idea that the holiday should coincide with May Day. And so since the first Lei Day on May 1, 1928, Hawaii has continued the annual celebration to this very day.
Oahu hosts the state’s largest May Day event. No matter what day of the week May 1 falls on, the Lei Day Celebration takes place at Queen Kapiolani Park in Waikiki. The event features live music, a lei contest exhibit, hula performances, demonstrations, craft and food vendors, and more. This event is free and open to the public. To check out our photos from previous years’ celebrations, click here. This rare full color travelogue from the 1940s shows Hawaii as it looked in the era before air travel made the island a highly accessible tourist destination. The film was photographed by Walter "Butch" Resce, who served as a combat cameraman during WWII and founded Rainbow Pictures after the war. The film shows Waikiki Beach, surfing, Diamond Head, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and many other scenes of classic Hawaii. Floral leis are seen at the 4:30 mark, with service personnel being decorated as well as tourists. A luau is also shown, along with classic Hawaiian dancing, the Statue of King Kamehameha, and a beautiful sunset. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh9C7lzUgOM
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