Events
Bishop Museum Celebrates Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea With Welo Ka Hae Hawaiʻi Event
Honolulu, Hawaiʻi — Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum celebrated Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day, with its Welo Ka Hae Hawaiʻi event on Monday, July 31, 2023. The event featured Ka Hae Hawaiʻi, the raising of the Hawaiian Flag, as well as mele (Hawaiian chants, songs, or poems) by Paula Fuga along with Uncle Jerome Koko and Hanale Kaʻanapu of The Mākaha Sons.
"Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea is a beloved celebration for many Bishop Museum staff, and we're pleased to host the first of what will be an annual event at the Museum," said Taylour Chang, Bishop Museum director of public programs and community events. "Our goal is to continue presenting the Museum as a place where gatherings such as this can be had, and to pay tribute to the legacy of our kūpuna and our aliʻi. In this way, we honor our living culture."
Established on July 31, 1843 by King Kamehameha III, Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea marks the return of political power to the Hawaiian Kingdom after the British unlawfully seized control earlier that year. Throughout the 19th century, Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea was celebrated annually with great pride as a Hawaiian national holiday. In 2022, the State of Hawaiʻi designated July 31 as a special day of observance.
"In our collections, we have the source materials that represent what Hawaiʻi's aliʻi stood for and represented in their lifetimes," shared Chang. "It's our responsibility to honor history and celebrate the lives and work of our aliʻi through these observances."
The Museum's event was a collaborative effort with Kumu Imaikalani Winchester and the organizers of the annual Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea celebration at Thomas Square Park, which was held on the previous day.
The Museum is planning another Hawaiian national holiday event, Lā Kūʻokoʻa, the Independence Day of the Hawaiian Kingdom, in the fall. Information on this and other Bishop Museum events can be found at BishopMuseum.org/Events.
Photos for media use (please credit "Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum").
About Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, the State of Hawaiʻi Museum of Natural and Cultural History
Bishop Museum’s mission is to inspire our community and visitors through the exploration, celebration, and perpetuation of the extraordinary history, culture, and environment of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. The Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his wife Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a royal descendant of King Kamehameha I. Today, the Museum thrives as an educational center for the community and is widely regarded as the world’s premier institution for Hawaiian and Pacific content.
Bishop Museum’s vast collections of more than 25 million objects and specimens represent nine disciplines and include more than 22 million biological specimens, over 2 million cultural objects, 115,000 historical publications, and 1 million photographs, films, works of art, audio recordings, and manuscripts. These collections tell the stories of the cultures and biodiversity of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific as well as the proud legacy of scholarly research spanning 130 years.
Bishop Museum proudly serves more than 200,000 visitors each year, including 20,000 children on school visits. Guests are encouraged to pre-plan their trip to #HawaiisMuseum with its free digital guide, available through Bloomberg Connects.
To learn more about the Museum’s research, collections, exhibits, and programs, visit BishopMuseum.org, follow @BishopMuseum on Facebook and Instagram, visit Bishop Museum’s YouTube channel, or call (808) 847-3511. Bishop Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Bishop Museum is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, and welcomes applicants from the military, veterans, and those with disabilities. Learn about careers at Bishop Museum at BishopMuseum.org/Careers and on its LinkedIn page.
Bishop Museum Press is Hawaiʻi’s oldest book publisher and one of the first scholarly publishers in the Western Hemisphere, and has published over 1,200 titles and distributed over 1 million books in 72 countries worldwide. Bishop Museum hosts a restaurant and gift shop on campus, Tūtū’s Place by Highway Inn and Shop Pacifica by Nā Mea Hawaiʻi.