La`i`ōpua 2020 Awarded Grant

La`i`ōpua 2020 has been awarded a $9,733 grant from the Office of Hawai`i Affairs (OHA) to hold “Ho`okahua – Under the Kona Moon.”

The event will be videotaped, televised and shared on social media in September 2021. The purpose of the event is to educate and connect Native Hawaiians to their culture through the sharing of stories, mele and memories by Hawai`i Island kupuna, artisans and experts.

La`i`ōpua 2020 is a non-profit organization located in the heart of Kailua-Kona on Hawai`i Island. Its mission is to provide social, recreational, vocational, economical, educational, and cultural opportunities and infrastructure to communities in the Kealakehe ahupua`a. It is a place for pilina (building and supporting one another through relationships) and a pu`uhonua (place of comfort, peace and safety.

“We are very grateful to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for its support and belief in the importance of capturing these mini oral histories and preserving them for future generations,” said Kawehi Inaba, President of La`i`ōpua 2020.

For more information about “Under the Kona Moon,” visit the La`i`ōpua 2020 website, laiopua.org, or its Facebook page, or call La`i`ōpua 2020 at 808.327.1221.