Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 3, Number 7, 1 July 1986 — Celebration Features Fun, Entertainment [ARTICLE]

Celebration Features Fun, Entertainment

A rainbow of hundreds of colored bal!oons with messages to the beloved late Aunti Maiki Aiu Lake brought a spectacular ending to the second annual Founder's Day celebration at Kahikolu, the memorial garden dedicated to her memory on the campus of Saint Francis Catholic School in Manoa. It was a day of fun and celebration and the more than 2,500 people in attendance did just that, enjoying daylong entertainment by various Hawaiian performers, feasting on delicious Hawaiian plate lunches and homebaked goodies and purchasing T-shirts, leis and Hawaiian pillows. Coline Aiu, who succeeded her mother as kumu hula of Halau Hula O Maiki, said the ce!ebration was just the way Aunti Maiki would have wanted it — people happy and enjoying themselves. The festivities were held under a cloudless sky and a blazing sun and while shade trees for the large turnout were limited, those in the open had umbrellas or just soaked up the sun. This celebration to the memory of the acknowledged "Mother of the Hawaiian Renaissance" featured entertainment by such performers as the Brothers Cazimero, Halona, Kaeo, Leinaala Heine Kalama, Kipapa Rush Band, the Gentlemen of Na Kamalei, Kuulei Punua and Halau Hula O Kuulei Punua, Leinaala Simerson and her trio, the Soundettes anel the host Halau Hula O Maiki. Festivities got under way at exactly 11 a.m. with the start of the 1.6-mile Hula Malie fun walk/run from the halau in Puck's Alley to University Ave., Alaula Way, Pamoa Road and the finish line at Kahikolu. A total of 352 entries competed in the no-winner competition. Included among the runners were Roland Cazimero while brother Robert and Leinaala were among the walkers. A number of little ones, guided by adults, and teenagers were prevalent among the runners and walkers. The main purpose of this celebration is to raise money so that Aunti Maiki's dream of a school building ean be realized. This would be a building where all people ean leam Hawaii's culture and history through song and dance. Halau Hula O Maiki is only one of the many pursuits of Aunti Maiki who on May 14, 1979, filed articles of incorporation for the establishment of Kawena Corporation. It was the fruition of Aunti Maiki's dream: a dance legacy to be left to daughter Coline and a single self-sufficient entity housed on one physical loeahon with the corporation administering the many other pursuits such as: • 'Ahahui Ka'iulani. • The Hawaiian Dance Company. • Kawena Corporation Building Fund. • Hula Malie. • Kahikolu. Aunti Maiki's mastery and her artistry continue in the islands today through the kumu hula, olapa and haumana who hold her legacy in their hearts.