Yesterday’s long menu of activities all around the island was a feast for anybody interested in going and doing. Pick any venue, and one was sure to be entertained. I committed to a hoolaulea (country style backyard fair) at Hauula Elementary School, helping out at the Hawaiian civic club booth. Live Hawaiian music and hula, craft booths, local Hawaiian-style food, community exhibits, free parking. The event drew attention to the Hawaiian language immersion schools on our coast.
The singing of “Hawaii Ponoi” by the children impressed me the most. “Hawaii Ponoi” is our national anthem, and we stand when it is played or sung. When I was a kid, we learned the words to the first verse and the chorus, and we sang the chorus two times. Yesterday, I was blown away when, after the chorus, the children of Aha Punana Leo and Ke Kula Kaiapuni sang the other verses. Wow, that’s so maikai (good)! A proud, chicken-skin moment!
Haumana (students) and kumu (teachers) of Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Hauula, Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Kahuku, and Aha Punana Leo o Koolauloa
Here are the “Hawaii Ponoi” lyrics written by King Kalakaua to music composed by Henry Berger. They were first sung in 1874 at Kawaiahao Church.
(1st verse) Hawaii ponoi Nana i kou moi Ka lani alii Ke alii ============(Chorus) Makua lani e Kamehameha e Na kaua e pale Me ka ihe ============
(2nd verse) Hawaii ponoi Nana i na alii Na pua muli kou Na pokii ============
(3rd verse) Hawaii ponoi E ka lahui e O kau hana nui E ui e
Rebekah’s Studio 
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