Keiki having fun playing games.
By Staff Reports
(Honolulu)– From story telling & rock wall climbing to worms & robotics, Leeward CC’s 4th annual Ka Mole o Na Pua Festival, offers a diverse slate of engaging activities in celebration of sustainability. Presented on Saturday, April 14, from 10 am to 2:30 pm in the campus courtyards, the Festival features cooking demos, entertainment, local vendors, a variety of food, keiki crafts, Hawaiian games, and hands-on educational activities for young children. The Festival is free, with ample free parking. Mats, lawn chairs and coolers are welcomed.
New additions to the Festival this year include a “Create A Mural” living artwork, Wai’anae Seariders Robotics, Hawaii State Science Olympiad activities, CFL light bulb exchange, and Aloha Aina Recycling.
Highlights of the activities are:
- Solar Powered Race Track offers race cars propelled by solar panels on a track for children to enjoy.
- “Create A Mural” living artwork is a 70 foot long mural that will be created throughout the day by all the children attending the Festival. The work will be exhibited in Leeward’s Foyer Art Gallery during Earth Week.
- Read-Alouds and story telling by local librarians and student actors
- Na Mo’olelo Hawai’i: Story booths presented by students from the Leeward Hawaiian Studies program with hands on activities to accompany the tales.
- Ewablue Worm Composting offers worm farming for soil fertilization
- Free CFL Light Bulb Exchange by Blue Planet Foundation. Bring in old style incandescent bulbs and exchange them for energy saving CFLs for free!
- Book Sales by Bess Press ad Nā Mea Native Books
Aloha Aina Recycling offers “drive through recycling” and will accept a variety of items and eWaste: scrap metal, non-freon appliances, HI-5 beverage containers, used cooking oil, cellular phones, printer cartridges, DVDs, CDs, Blue Ray, games, newspaper, phone books, magazines, plastic bags/bottle caps, used eye glasses, hearing aids, batteries, computers, monitors, printers, clothes toys, and golf balls!
Young girl making music at the festival.
The Festival’s non-stop entertainment offers Ewa Elementary School Choir, the Leeward Jazz Ensemble , the Leeward Choir, Ashley K Simpson , Iroquois Point Band, and Manana Elementary School Choir. Special guests include contemporary jazz artist, Starr Kalahiki and Latin salsa with Espiritu Libre.
The free festival also includes:
- Kamaina Kids Climbing Wall
- Keiki Arts & Crafts
- Healthy Vegetarian cooking class demonstrations by “Mama T” from Down to Earth
- Makahiki Games & Cultural Activities
- Na Mea Hulu (Monk Seal education)
- Mālama Honu
- Information and demonstrations on sustainable, “green” practices and energy conservation
- Organic food booths
Ka Mole o Na Pua Festival is the kick off event of Earth Week celebration at the College. The name Ka Mole, Hawaiian for the main root of a plant, illustrates the relationship between kupuna and keiki. As the main root nurtures the plant, the intent of the Festival is to educate and engage young people in taking care of our environment.
Festival Chair, Bobbie Martel explains, “Malama i ka ‘aina, taking care of the land, ensures that she will take care of us. Sustainability is critically important for us as individuals and communities. We hope the Festival offers a legacy to our keiki and future generations to do the same.”
Martel, program coordinator for Leeward CC’s Associate in Arts in Education program, is linking the Festival’s hands-on and reading activities to the Leeward students studying to become teachers. Ka Mole o Na Pua Festival embraces the vision of a sustainable future. The performances and activities will cultivate a greater awareness and sensitivity to both island and global inter-dependencies.
Details are online at http://www.leeward.hawaii.edu/kamole/
Story time for keiki at the Ka Mole o Na Pua Festival.