Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 2008 — Kamehameha Schools on Maui opens new venue for the arts [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kamehameha Schools on Maui opens new venue for the arts

By Lisa Asatū Public lnfūrmatiūn Specialist At Kamehameha Schools' Maui campus, the class of 2009 will have the distinction of being the first to have its graduation ceremony in the new

Keōpūolani Hale, a 600-seat multipurpose facility that also provides a new home for ehapel services for faculty and students grades K-12. Since its Sept. 12 blessing, Keōpūolani Hale has shown its wide potential, hosting the drama club's production of Seussical, the semiannual Native Hawaiian fihn festival Ho'oluana, and the debut of a photography exhibit portraying pre-contact Hawai'i by Shane Tegarden, called Ho'omana'o I Nā Wā I Huliau. The exhibit was shown to students before being opened to the puhlie that night, reflecting the school's plans to use the facility to educate both students and the coimnunity. "(Kamehameha Schools Trustee) Admiral Kihune, who eame for the blessing, put it nicely saying, that with this theater we're able to showcase the talents of our students but also showcase our culture and language on that stage as well," according to Luana Kawa'a, Hawaiian

protocol facilitator for KS Maui. Kawa'a said that because the $18.5 million facility is named after Keōpūolani, a chiefess of nl'aupi'o status - the highest rank of an ali'i - the school would be careful to respect her name. "There is a review process before an event is scheduled in Keōpūolani, and that goes back to cultural protoeol," said Kawa'a. "When we do things in that building we want to do things that honor who she was as a Hawaiian chiefess as well as a strong Christian." The venue's interior reflects both of those qualities. A solid koa cross hangs on a wall opposite a lei hulu done in Ka Mō 'I style for Keōpūolani, and hand-held kahili honor her children, while two standing kāhili are done in red, symbolizing her sacred status, Kawa'a said. The contemporary pieces were created specifically for the building, with the help of groups like Hālau Kekuaokalā'au'ala'iliahi, whieh

created the featherwork. Kahu Kalani Wong, who ean now hold ehapel service in Keōpūolani Hale instead of in the gym, called the new 16,000-sqare-foot facility the "spiritual and cultural center" of the campus. That the hale offers a view facing Keōpūolani's birthplace at Pihana Heiau, or Haleki'i, in Wailuku is "serendipity," he said. Campus Headmaster Lee Ann DeLima said the eomplehon of the building ends one phase of construction at the Pukalani eampus, whieh serves about 1,100 stu-

dents in grades K through 12. The building, she said, has the latest technology. "If we wanted to do an assembly across the (three) campuses, we could. If we wanted to have a guest speaker eome on via Polycom, we ean do that," she said. "We no longer have to incur expenses of flying people over." "This has been a long-antici-pated facility," she added, "where we could gather comfortably in one plaee and hear the word of God and use a stagelike setting to showcase student talents." S

"He Makana Aloha" Christmas Concert Kamehameha Schools Maui showcases its finest talent in high school theater, choir, Hawaiian Ensemble and strings along with the elementary school Nā Mele Choir in two free shows on Sat. Dec. 6, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m; 5:30 p.m. stew and rice bowls, $5, includes a drink. Kamehameha Schools Maui, Keōpūolani Hale. For RSVP and meal ticket infonnation, eall Mrs. Hughes at 808-572-4204.

HO'ONA' AUAO ■ EDUCATIDN

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