Summer Exhibits Dive into Kona Ranching

In Kona Historical Society’s archives, Mina Elison, curator and future Kona Museum Gallery director, works on the two “Kona Ranching and Kona Cowboys” exhibits that will be presented this summer. Photo By Carolyn Lucas-Zenk | Kona Historical Society.

Two summer exhibits will be launched by the Kona Historical Society at two separate sites beginning at the end of May.

The exhibits will invite the public to learn more about Kona’s history of cowboys and ranching, while also allowing for the opportunity to share and contribute to the community story.

Kona Historical Society’s pop-up exhibit, “Kona Ranching and Kona Cowboys: Our Story.”

The exhibit is part of the society’s monthly Hanohano ‘O Kona Lecture Series and will be featured one-day only on May 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Council Chambers at the West Hawai’i Civic Center.

Spectators will learn the origins of ranching in Kona and all of Hawai’i, as well as the industry’s role the community in the 1800’s. The exhibit will also focus on early sites and key individuals, as well as how the land shaped the distinctive cowboy culture and life.

A historical lecturer on the topic and introduction of the exhibit will begin at 5:30 p.m.

The second part of the project, “Kona Ranching and Kona Cowboys: Our Way of Life,” will run from July 12 through July 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays at Kona Historical Society’s H.N. Greenwell Store Museum in Kealakekua.

Homestead life, families, and tools will be the feature of this exhibit. In its entirety, a focus will be placed on people, traditions, and ties that began long ago but remain vital and strong in Kona.

A preview to the second exhibit will take place on July 9 for society members and guests by invite.

Admissions to both exhibits is by donation.

The project is support through Grant-in-Aid funding from the State of Hawai’i and the legislature.