The Hui O Laulima women’s group is once again organizing the festival’s Cultural Tent, with Tina Kaneshiro and Laura Ajimine serving as co-chairs. The group selected “Shīsā” as the theme for this year’s Cultural Tent activities.
Hui O Laulima is partnering with Hawaii Okinawa Creative Arts to raise awareness about the significance of the Okinawan lion dogs. They plan to do this by having a shïsä greet visitors as they enter the Cultural Tent. HOCA, which is led by brothers-in-law and shïsä partners Jon Itomura and Eric Nitta, are also setting up a shïsä display and showing a video on the significance of the shïsä in Okinawan culture.
Returning exhibitors will include:
- Okinawan artifacts.
- Uchinaaguchi Okinawan language display.
- “Chimugukuru: The Soul, The Spirit, The Heart,” Hui O Laulima’s cultural cookbook will be available for sale for $27, or gift-wrapped in an apron for $35. Proceeds benefit Hui O Laulima’s cultural programs.
- Center for Okinawan Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa. The Center for Okinawan Studies will be selling the just-published “Social Process in Hawai‘i” volume, “Breaking the Silence,” on the World War II Honouliuli internment and prisoner of war camp, which includes a chapter on Okinawan internees and POWs who were imprisoned at Honouliuli. COS will also be selling the “Okinawan-English Wordbook.”
- Okinawan Genealogical Society of Hawaii.
- Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i.
- Ikenobo Ikebana arrangements by Nobuko Kida-Sensei.
- Hawaii Bonsai Association.
- Hands-on calligraphy; and displays and activities.
A small fee may be charged for materials for some activities.
- Ryukyuan kimono and Paranku dressing and picture-taking will be available on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and again from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Professional photographer David Shimabukuro from One Moment in Time Photography will be on-site to take the pictures. There will be a charge for the pictures.