jwckennedy

On April 3rd & 4th, park visitors celebrated the 50th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival with the island’s cultural practitioners as they shared the arts and crafts of Hawai‘i at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Kīlauea Visitor Center on the lānai.

Please Enjoy this six minute compilation of the event.

Edna and Sam Baldado shared the cultural uses of the kalo, taro plant.

Ab and Pua Valencia shared the art of traditional lei making.

Vi Makuakāne demonstated the intricate art of feather work.

Park Ranger Adrian Boone and National Park Service Volunteer Ed Shiinoki instructed visitors in the art of creating and playing their own nose flute.

Singer, songwriter, praise and worship leader and multi Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award Nominee Rupert Tripp, Jr entertained with beautiful music.

Lehua Hauanio shared a variety of traditional lei making techniques.

Ku‘uleimomi Makuakāne-Salāve‘a shared the art of kapa making.

Helene Hayselden demonstrated the art of making a…

Across from store #1.

From January to March of this year, Emily Harte, Exhibits Specialist with the Historic Preservation Training Center, joined forces with Kalaupapa NHP Exhibits Specialist Richard Miller to perform extensive preservation work on seven severely deteriorated historic tombs located in the Kalawao area of the Park.

Kalaupapa is the site of the century long program of exile and imprisonment of victims of Hansen’s disease (leprosy) which began in 1865.   Kalawao was the location of the first settlement of exiled people, and was the home of Saint Damien, who has been recognized for his work with the patients.

Approximately eight thousand people were sent to Kalaupapa during the time of exile.  Thousands were buried in unmarked mass graves, and the 1946 tsunami removed many wooden and lightweight masonry gravemarkers.  Twelve hundred historic gravemarkers exist in the Park.   This project is part of continuous program of gravemarker recording, assessment, and preservation begun in…

At around 10:45am today, staff and visitors at Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site were startled for a moment when a 4.4 earthquake gave the visitor center a good shake (For details on this quake, see:  Earthquake Summary). Although there was no apparent damage, this small earthquake was a good reminder that Hawaii is very much seismically alive. In light of this, we’d thought we’d share the following article about earthquakes in Hawaii.

Earthquakes in Hawaii

Earthquakes in Hawai`i are closely linked to volcanism. They are an important part of the island-building processes that have shaped the Island of Hawai`i and the other Hawaiian Islands. Thousands of earthquakes occur every year beneath the Island of Hawai`i.

Eruptions and magma movement within the presently active volcanoes (Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Lo`ihi) are usually accompanied by numerous small earthquakes. They originate in regions of magma storage or along the paths that…