MEDIA RELEASE

The Bishop Museum’s native plant arboretum, the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, will host the 8th Annual Grow Hawaiian Weekend Feb. 24-25.

This free event is a celebration of Hawaiian culture and natural history, and attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy hands-on activities, displays, live entertainment and Hawaiian food.

A highlight this year will be the dedication of the garden’s new visitor center during the festival’s opening ceremony, featuring remarks from Danny Akaka, Jr., community leader, cultural expert and Bishop Museum board member, and Blair D. Collis, Bishop Museum president and CEO.

On Friday, Feb. 24, from noon-4 p.m., the public is invited to join the Greenwell Garden staff, taro experts Jerry Konanui, Kanae Keawe, Daniel Anthony and local school children in kui kalo—poi pounding. Boards, stones and cooked taro will be available for guests to try their hand at one of the most traditional culinary arts of Hawaii.

On Saturday, Feb. 25, from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., there will be presentations on botanical gardens, poi making and taro cultivation, as well as storytelling sessions, and demonstrations of ipu gourd decorating, kapa making, lauhala weaving, woodworking, lei making and Hawaiian dyes.

Of special significance, Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden will be dedicating its new visitor center from 9-10 a.m. Saturday. The new visitor center was built with the support of the State of Hawaii and will feature a gift shop, restrooms, paved parking and a unique landscape of beautiful native plants.

“Everyone is invited to join in this special celebration for a long awaited improvement that has resulted from the hard work of so many,” Greenwell Manager Peter Van Dyke said.

For more information call 323-3318 or email agg@bishopmuseum.org. Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden is Bishop Museum’s native plant arboretum, located 12 miles south of Kailua-Kona on Highway 11, just south of mile marker 110.

The 8th Annual Grow Hawaiian Festival is presented by Hawaii Forest and Trail and supported in part by a grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Support for this program is also provided by Kukio, Hawaii Electric Light Company, and Kealakekua Ranch, Ltd.

The Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his wife Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last direct descendant of King Kamehameha I.

Today, the Museum is recognized as the principal museum of the Pacific, housing the world’s largest collection of Hawaiian and Pacific artifacts and natural history specimens. More than 340,000 people visit the Museum each year, including more than 40,000 schoolchildren.

For more information, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is a unique, independent state agency established through the Hawaii State Constitution and statutes to advocate for the betterment of conditions of all Native Hawaiians, with a Board of Trustees elected by the voters of Hawaii. OHA is guided by a vision and mission to ensure the perpetuation of the culture, to protect the entitlements of Native Hawaiians, and to build a strong and healthy Hawaiian people and nation.

For more information, visit www.oha.org