Kona Historical Society to Host Online Auction

Kona Historical Society

The Kona Historical Society will auction more than 200 unique items over a weeklong online auction in December.

Items for sale to benefit the nonprofit include historic photographs, art, unique experiences, land and water activities, autographed items by celebrities and sports stars, golf, dining, accommodations, jewelry, antiques, and collectibles.

Kicking off Dec. 7, the Society’s annual online auction plays a significant role in providing critical funding and support for its daily functioning and education programs. It also helps aid in the protection and stewardship of the Society’s unique collections and two historic sites. It is the largest fundraiser of the year for Kona Historical Society, which hopes to raise $50,000. This year’s event theme is Hoʻokahi ka ʻilau like ana, “Wield the paddles together.”

“During the pandemic, our work has not stopped. Kona Historical Society constantly responds and adapts to the challenges of life’s ocean, bravely venturing beyond the familiar shores of everything we thought we knew, needed, and believed we could do. Holding steadfast to our obligation of telling the stories of those who made our lives and community possible, we have chartered new courses,” said Community Engagement Manager Carolyn Lucas-Zenk. “We’ve transformed our historic sites from spaces of looking and learning to online spaces of interaction, participation, and engagement. We are sustained by the knowledge that these stories of Kona and Hawai‘i we preserve and share are important to so many. People worldwide have kept us steady in our new direction by joining us for virtual field trips, educational programs, and special online projects.”

“Yet, a swell of uncertainty is there, and we need as many people as we can get in our canoe to help propel us forward,” she continued. “Like the canoes that met the tall ships to barter goods for essential food, water, wood, and salt, you can provide a lifeline and sustenance for our nonprofit by participating in this online auction.”

All the items in this auction will be sold online. There is no live event so if you win the online bidding, you win the item. The auction will run from Dec. 7 through Dec. 13 online. Click here for the link. You can “register to bid” now on the auction website and preview auction items.

The event is generously sponsored by Joan and Craig Woods, Foresight Engineering & Design LLC, Hawaiian Gardens, LUVA Real Estate, Joey Ann Marshall Design, Hummel Construction, Meredith and Eugene Clapp, and in memory of Nancy Piianaia, Richard T. Denison, and Maria and Elliott Chernin.

Kona Historical Society is a community-based, nonprofit organization and Smithsonian 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, call Kona Historical Society at 808-323-3222 or visit www.konahistorical.org. To get the latest updates, “LIKE” Kona Historical Society on Facebook.