Ka`u News Briefs Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017

Bon Dance at Pahala Hongwanji this evening, with the bell at the Buddhist church overlooking the venue.
Photo by Ron Johnson

THE BON DANCE SEASON around Hawai`i Island came to a close, with a service, celebration, taiko drum playing and the traditional Japanese Bon Dance at Pahala Hongwanji on Sunday.

Part time Pahala resident Minako Yamazaki,  in kimono, greets
long time Na`alehu residents Alice and Iwao Yonemitsu, as Japanese 
traditions in Ka`u are shared. Photo by Ron Johnson

      The Bon Dance and service celebrates the end of the harvest season and brings the community together to remember ancestors. In Pahala, Sunday's was the second annual Bon Dance since the practice was stopped after 1999, just three years after the 1996 closing of Ka`u Sugar Co.
      For generations, Japanese culture has been a key component of life in Pahala, with a Japanese school house, martial arts, flower arranging, sushi making, music, and the Hongwanji with its sanctuary and church services.
     The Bon Dance in Pahala has always been a community effort with people of all faiths joining in.
      The event includes dancing in the round and food and historic displays, as well as craft making.
      The dancing circles a high wooden scaffold called a yagura. The yagura is usually also the bandstand for musicians and singers of Obon music, both live and recorded.

Takami Munnerlyn stamps a headband to wear at the bon dance.
Photo by Ron Johnson

       New Japanese residents, like part-time Pahala dweller Minako Yamazaki, joined in this year's celebration with one of her family kimonos brought from Tokyo. Her grandson Takami Munnerlyn, who was born here and has just started his first day of school, joined in the activities including putting stamps on a hachi maki.
     Pahala residents helped participants make the hachi maki, the headbands worn to celebrate Obon. Lynn Hamilton, Dorothy Kalua and friends provided long strips of cloth for people to stamp with favorite symbols before tying them on their heads.     
     The Taiko Drums, heard on Sunday, are leading to the offering of drum classes and people of all faiths are invited to learn, said the organizers.
      Pahala Hongwanji, `O Ka`u Kakou, led by Wayne Kawachi, and many other volunteers helped to put on the event.

Taiko Drumming classes will soon be offered at Pahala Hongwanji. Photo by Ron Johnson

A PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE WILL BE SEEN MONDAY AT DAWN in Hawai`i. The Ka`u Calendar astronomy columnist Lew Cook writes that "Not much of the sun will be eaten by the dragon, which was the foretelling of disasters of old."
     He warns that even though only a tiny bit if the sun will be darkened by the moon over Hawai`i, "never, ever, ever look directly at the sun without special eclipse glasses." The partial eclipse will occur in Hawaiian skies as the sun rises in the east between about 6:05 a.m. and 7:25 a.m. The more dramatic view will be available from televised accounts on the mainland as it makes a 70 mile wide path of darkness from Oregon, across the U.S. to the eastern seaboard. The next total eclipse in Hawai`i will be in the next century - 2106.

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People of all ages enjoyed Volcano Rain Forest Runs

on Saturday. Photo form Hauolikeola Pakele

VOLCANO RAIN FOREST RUNS results are posted showing the first place finisher in the Half-Marathon was Patrick Stover, of Kailua-Kona, with a time of 1:18:50, followed by a regular winner Billy Barnett, of Volcano in 1:18:58 and Alec Richardson, of Hilo in 1:22:56.
      Bree Wee, of Kailua-Kona,  was the first woman across the line in 1:29:05, followed by Marta Caproni, of Volcano in 1:36:06 and Amy Young, of Kea`au in 1:39:02.
      Runners, with a total of 253 finishing, came from as far away as Italy, Great Britain, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, California, Alaska, Australia and Japan. Ka`u competitors included Al Galiza of Pahala, Edridge Naboa, of Na`alehu and  Yuko, White, John Poetzel, Andrew White and Kathy Baxter, of Ocean View. Volcano resident competitors included Shawn Mishler, Christina Montoya-Aiona, Marvin Manuel and Leigh-Anne Manuel. Lauren Kurpita and Susanne Lyle represented Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
     Four women over 60 completed the Half-Marathon. Fourteen men between 60 and 69 and five men over 70 completed the Half Marathon.
   
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Pick up the August edition of The Ka`u Calendar delivered
free to 5,500 mailboxes throughout Ka`u, from Miloli`i 
through Volcano. Also available on stands throughout
the district. See it online at www.kaucalendar.com

Volcano 911: Protecting and Serving Visitors, Tue, Aug 22, 7 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Chief Ranger John Broward reveals what it takes to become an National Park Service law enforcement ranger, and how the park’s Protection staff works to keep visitors safe on the world’s most active volcanoes. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Make the Hawaiian Game, Pala‘ie, Wed, Aug 23, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai in Hawai‘i Volcanoes’ National Park. Create your own traditional Hawaiian game with natural materials. Pala‘ie, sometimes played by keiki while chanting ancient songs, is a ball-and-loop game rarely encountered in modern Hawai‘i. Free; park entrance fees apply.

Dream Catcher, Wed, Aug 23, 3:30 – 5 p.m., Pāhala Community Center. Grades K – 8 register Aug 14 – 22. 928-0312

Fee-Free Day, Fri, Aug 25, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Celebrate National Park Service’s 101^st Anniversary.

Coffee Talk, Fri, Aug 25, 9:30 – 11 a.m., Kahuku Unit of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. An informal conversation on a wide variety of topics. Ka‘ū coffee, tea and pastries available for purchase. Free.

http://kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory_2017