MEDIA RELEASE

Hulihee Palace is expanding its museum hours to be open most Mondays, with hours of operation from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

The only exception is the Monday following the monthly Kokua Kailua Village stroll, when the palace is closed in the morning and open 1-4 p.m.

Beginning May 1, admission fees for adult, kamaaina, military and seniors increase by $2.

The new fee schedule follows:

General Admission:

* Adult: $8 (non-guided tour) $10 (guided tour)
* Kamaaina: $6 (non-guided tour) $8 (guided tour)
* Military: $6 (non-guided tour) $8 (guided tour)
* Seniors 65+: $6 (non-guided tour) $8 (guided tour)
* Children: $1 (18 years and under)

Visitors can choose from a 45-minute docent-guided tour, a self-guided tour (detailed brochure provided), or can use a personal mobile telephone to access a free “On Cell” audio tour (regular mobile air may fees may apply).

Built in 1838, the two-story Hulihee Palace houses a collection of ancient Hawaiian (pre-Western contact) artifacts and personal memorabilia of 19th century Hawaiian royalty.

The palace structure has been painstakingly restored to circa 1885, a period known in Hawaiian history as the Kalakaua Era.

It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Standout furnishings include King Kalakaua’s magnificent armoire that won a silver medal in the 1889 International Exhibition in Paris, a 70-inch table top made from a single piece of koa wood, an ornate steamer trunk used by Queen Kapiolani to carry belongings to Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, King Kamehameha the Great’s stone exercise ball weighing a whopping 180 pounds and exquisite bed mats made from the endemic makaloa sedge.

Gift shop hours are 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

For details, contact the palace at 329-1877, the palace office at 329-9555 or visit www.daughtersofhawaii.org

The gift shop can be reached by phoning 329-6558.

Caretakers of Hulihee Palace are the Daughters of Hawaii. The organization was founded in 1903 and opens membership to any woman who is directly descended from a person who lived in Hawaii prior to 1880.

Helping the Daughters in its efforts since 1986 are the Calabash Cousins; membership is available to all.

— Find out more:
www.huliheepalace.net