MEDIA RELEASE

(Paʻauilo, HI): 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Saturday, July 28, 2018, at the Paʻauilo School Field.

On Saturday, July 28, 2018, Hui Mālama i ke Ala ʻŪlili (huiMAU), a grassroots organization based in Paʻauilo, Hāmākua, will host a community event in celebration of the 175th anniversary of Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, at the Paʻauilo School Field.

Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea (Sovereignty Restoration Day) was celebrated for over half a century in the Hawaiian Kingdom as Hawaiʻi’s first national holiday. The holiday commemorates the events that took place in Honolulu on July 31, 1843, when British Admiral Richard Thomas ended a five-month British occupation of Hawaiʻi, recognizing the sovereign authority of Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) and restoring ea (life, sovereignty) to the Hawaiian Kingdom. It was on this day that Kauikeaouli rejoiced, stating his famous words, “Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono” (The sovereignty of the land continues on because it is pono).

Our hope for this event in Paʻauilo is to bring our Hāmākua community together to celebrate our own ea—the abundance of knowledge, skills, values, and life-giving practices in our community, past and present, that hold the potential for our return to a thriving Hāmākua and Hawaiʻi Island community in the future.

We welcome all in our community to come share in this family-friendly, drug and alcohol-free event, featuring local food & craft vendors, farmers, games for the whole ʻohana, educational activity booths for all ages, speakers, and live music by Kainani Kahaunaele, Ho-a, Chadd Paishon, and Jon & Jamaica Osorio. For more information, find huiMAU on Facebook or Instagram, or check out our event page: www.alaulili.com/la-hoihoi-ea-hamakua.