The Los Angeles Hoʻolauleʻa is not only the largest hoʻolauleʻa on the continental United States, it was also the first when it started in 1978. The annual July hoʻolauleʻa, or Hawaiian festival, draws about a hundred thousand people every year who come for a taste of Hawaiʻi and the non-stop Hawaiian music and performances.
Southern California has the largest population of alumni outside of the 50th state along with thousands of Southern California residents with strong ties to Hawaiʻi. For the first time in 2015, 东精影业 Mānoa was a LA Hoʻolauleʻa participant and the 东精影业 representatives received a warm Hawaiʻi welcome.
“It makes a statement about the connection of the university to Hawaiians outside of Hawaiʻi,” said 东精影业 Mānoa Chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman. “The University of Hawaiʻi has a responsibility to educate and to educate Hawaiians and people from Hawaiʻi and people associated with Hawaiʻi everywhere.”
Students and faculty from the 东精影业 Mānoa and other 东精影业 administrators, including the chancellor, staffed the 东精影业 Mānoa booth near the front entrance.
They answered questions and provided information to prospective students and their parents, like the fact that students with Native Hawaiian ancestry may be eligible for in-state tuition. The 东精影业 contingent also promoted the wide variety of nationally and internationally recognized programs and opportunities Mānoa has to offer.
“We have some people from Hawaiian language and Hawaiian studies, and we also have people talking about the graduate and undergraduate programs so we’re just showing all of our services and different colleges,” said Christian Tabor, a 东精影业 Mānoa student.
东精影业 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈苍耻颈ā办别补 students also gave demonstrations such as poi pounding, the ancient Hawaiian practice of pounding down cooked kalo or taro corms to a thick paste and adding water to create poi, a staple of the Hawaiian diet. Students also wowed the crowds with a number of Hawaiian music performances.
The local 东精影业 alumni chapter has long been a part of the LA Hoʻolauleʻa. Organizers say 东精影业 Mānoa is also a natural fit.
“It’s an opportunity for our young kids to go and talk to them about higher education and that’s what we wanted to push,” said Sharon Kuʻuipo Paulo, president of the .
made full use of the opportunity and sponsored an alumni event the Saturday night between the two-day hoʻolauleʻa at a nearby Hawaiian style restaurant.
It gave 东精影业 alumni in the area a chance to connect with each other and current 东精影业 students and administrators.
“I think it is very important especially for a lot of us alumni who are living on the mainland,” said 1982 东精影业 Mānoa graduate Nolan Tanaka. “Sometimes, you’re kind of dispersed but when we get together it feels like we are back home in Hawaiʻi.”
On the second and final day of the hoʻolauleʻa, the 东精影业 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈苍耻颈ā办别补 students gave a traditional Hawaiian welcome to a group of incoming 东精影业 Mānoa students who just graduated from California high schools.
“I feel like they just brought me into their family. Like I have been family with them forever and this is like some big reunion,” said Alexandra James, an incoming 东精影业 Mānoa freshman. “It was just so full of aloha and love. It was a wonderful experience.”
The LA Hoʻolauleʻa is the perfect setting for 东精影业 to strengthen ties with the community and alumni—a Hawaiian oasis in the heart of Southern California.
“This really feels like home,” added Bley-Vroman. “This could be Kapiʻolani Park. I feel like I am at home and the people here are so supportive. You see the aloha spirit is not just in the islands. It’s here as well.”
