KDEN to Perform Tribute to KMC & HVNP

Dick Hershberger will portray Dr. Thomas Jaggar in “Kilauea 1916; A Centennial Celebration of KMC & HVNP.” Courtesy photo.

In honor of the centennial of Kīlauea Military Camp and the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Kīlauea Drama & Entertainment Network will present a look back at the people who were a part of the beginnings of both entities.

“Kīlauea 1916: A Centennial Celebration of KMC & HVNP” explores the unique partnership between KMC and the HVNP, which began in 1916.

The show  will be performed Aug. 19 thorough 28 at KMC’s Kīlauea Theater—Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

A group of Hilo businessmen raised the necessary funds to build and operate a permanent camp in 1916 on land owned by Bishop Estate. The camp was to serve as a rest and relaxation facility for military troops, as well a training ground for the local National Guard members.

Later that same year marked the establishment of HVNP August 1916.

“Since the Kilauea Theater is our home, we were honored when KMC asked us to put together a show to commemorate their centennial,” said KDEN’s Suzi Bond. “We were happy to oblige. There is so much history in the area, we are taking a look at some of the people who were there when it all began; businessmen, politicians, Buffalo soldiers and the local Japanese immigrants.”

Dick Hershberger, who portrays Dr Thomas Jaggar in KDEN’s “A Walk Into the Past” Living History program, has written an entertaining look at some of the characters who were a part of the Volcano community as the camp and park became a reality.

The show is a series of vignettes in which the characters tell their stories, narrated by a reporter having a conversation with Mrs. Isabel Jaggar as she is preparing to board a ship in Honolulu to take her back to Hilo and her Volcano home.

On the dock are musicians playing the music of the era.

Other characters in the show include Dr Jaggar, Lorrin Thurston, Gov. Walter Frear, Cpl. Ovid Smith, George Lycurgus, Mitsue Tanaka, Shizuka Yasunaka and Hidechi Yasunaka.

Members of the cast include Arlene Araki, Stephen Bond, Bill Chikasuye, Dick Hershberger, Joel Kelley, Theresa Miller, Steve Peyton, Ray Ryan and Samantha Saiki.

Karl Halemano is coordinating the music.

Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door. For reservations or more information call 982-7344 or email kden73@aol.com.