The Maui News
The Hana Limu Festival will return to its traditional location at Hana Bay Beach Park at Kapueokahi on Saturday for the first time since 2019, Na Mamo O Mu’olea announced Monday.
Set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the 12th Hana Limu Festival will spotlight the limu kala, a golden-brown and speckled limu used to heal physical and emotional wounds. “Kala,” which means “to forgive,” is a central component of ho’oponopono, the traditional Hawaiian conflict resolution process. Last week, Gov. Josh Green signed a bill designating limu kala as the official state limu.
“Our Hana Limu Festival has grown and diversified over the years,” Claudia Kalaola, Limu Festival chairperson and co-founder of Na Mamo O Mu’olea, said in a news release. “More like-minded organizations are joining the festivities and adding a variety of fun and interesting activities that compliment our limu and educational theme.”
The festival will feature live limu demonstrations, hands-on youth activities, Hawaiian music, hula by a local halau, a silent auction, cultural craft vendors, food and T-shirts with a limu kala print by Maui artist Gwen Arkin. Hana residents and limu experts will conduct limu surveys at four locations along the Hana coast on the morning of the festival. They will share their ‘ike, observations and limu collections with keiki and other festival-goers.
“Moving the Festival from the Hawaiian Moon Calendar season of Ho’oilo (winter) to Kauwela (summer) allows us to take advantage of more favorable ocean conditions for some of these new activities, especially our Limu Surveys in three different moku of East Maui,” Kalaola said. “With better conditions, we can collect a wider variety of Hawaiian Limu for our identification, educational and cultural activities.”
This year’s theme is “E ‘ai i kekahi, E kapi i kekahi,” meaning “Eat some, salt some,” which expresses the theme of sustainability, Na Mamo O Mu’olea said. The nonprofit is made up of residents and families of Mu’olea who aim to restore the area’s cultural, scenic, historic and marine resources for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the community and future generations.
Each year, funds raised through a silent auction at the festival enable Na Mamo O Mu’olea to award the Isabelle Aiona Abbott Scholarship to Hana students who wish to pursue further education in marine biology, natural resource management and Hawaiian studies.
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