Events
Bishop Museum Hosts 2nd Annual Kāhuli Festival
# Bishop Museum Hosts 2nd Annual Kāhuli Festival
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum hosts the 2nd Annual Kāhuli Festival this Saturday, celebrating the research and conservation of land snails in Hawaiʻi. This year's theme is focused on increasing capacity and building awareness, showcasing the collaborative efforts between the Museum, its partners, and the community.
What:
The campus-wide, family friendly event will include:
- Talks by conservationists, researchers, cultural practitioners and others, with a keynote presentation by Pomaikaʻi Kaniaupio-Crozier, Conservation Manager for Puʻu Kukui Watershed Preserve
- Informational and activity booths hosted by community partners including the Honolulu Zoo, Kupu Hawaiʻi, Laulima, the Oʻahu Army Natural Resources Program, Urban Garden Center, and the Waiʻanae Mountains Watershed Partnership
- Pūpū Ola: Kāhuli Captive Rearing Research Center in the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center: Live endangered and rare snails from Bishop Museum's Hawaiian Land Snail Conservation Program and the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Snail Extinction Prevention
- Film screenings of After the Ending directed by Daniel A. Kelin II and Kāhuli directed by Christopher A. Johns, with accompanying panel discussions
- A kāhuli art exhibit and auction, as well as the opportunity to play and pre-order the new Snail Blazers TCG (trading card game) featuring collectible cards illustrated by Native Hawaiian artist Solomon Enos
- Live music by Aloha Got Soul and Ocean Music Action
- Food and beverage stations on the Museum's Great Lawn
Kamaʻāina and military with ID enjoy discounted admission of $5 per person, which includes access to the Museum's exhibits and galleries.
When:
Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 3-9 p.m.
Where:
Throughout the Bishop Museum campus. A full program timeline with location details can be found at BishopMuseum.org/calendar/kahuli-festival2023.
Why:
Kāhuli are important to our Native Hawaiian ecosystems as decomposers and as a food source for some of our other Native species. They're also significant in our culture, appearing in mele, hula, moʻolelo, and ʻoli. Join us at the 2nd annual Kāhuli Festival and learn about and celebrate some of the biocultural diversity that makes Hawaiʻi unique and a place we all love to call home.
Although kāhuli is often mistakenly thought to refer primarily to the famous O'ahu tree snails, it refers to land snails, broadly. At least 759 species of land snails are native to Hawaiʻi, and 99% of them are found nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, most of them are critically endangered. In February, Hawaiʻi Governor Josh Greene proclaimed 2023 as the Year of the Kāhuli.
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.