KHS to Begin Virtual Storytime Sessions Wednesday

PC: Kona Historical Society

Kona Historical Society is offering a weekly virtual storytime on its Facebook page to help all the ohana out there trying to keep their keiki entertained and engaged, and to provide parents and caregivers a few minutes of precious relief.

The nonprofit is inviting ohana to gather around their computers, phones and tablets together to enjoy short stories about Kona’s unique history and heritage. Some of the books shared will transport viewers back to the past or take them down memory lane. Other selected books aim to spark curiosity, smiles, joy and laughter, a KHS press release said. Many celebrate community, diversity and friendship.

Every Wednesday at 1 p.m., Kona Historical Society’s Programs Team will conduct a virtual storytime, lasting between five and 20 minutes. The videos will initially be posted to Kona Historical Society’s Facebook page as a Watch Party and then uploaded to the Kona Historical Society YouTube channel. During the Watch Party, the public is welcome to provide comments and ask questions.

The first Kona Historical Society virtual storytime is Wednesday, April 29, when “Spunky: A Kona Nightingale” by Ethel Harder and Janne Fujimoto, with illustrations by Shay Wahl, will be read aloud at the Society’s Kona Coffee Living History Farm in Captain Cook to resident donkeys Shizu and Charlie Boy. This children’s book shares the story of coffee farming through the eyes of a donkey.

The complete schedule of this series of free storytime events can be found on Kona Historical Society’s Facebook page. The nonprofit looks forward to seeing fellow bibliophiles of all ages and Kona aficionados online.

Kona Historical Society is a community-based, nonprofit organization and Smithsonian Museum affiliate that has spent the past four decades collecting, preserving and sharing the history of the Kona Districts and their rich cultural heritage within Hawai‘i.

For more information, visit www.konahistorical.org.