Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Honokaa is teeming with excitement as preparations move forward for the annual Holy Ghost Feast Celebration &Bazaar. ADVERTISING Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Honokaa is teeming with excitement as preparations move
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Honokaa is teeming with excitement as preparations move forward for the annual Holy Ghost Feast Celebration &Bazaar.
The celebration and bazaar is slated to begin at 8 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, with a procession to the church. The celebratory Mass beginning at 8:30 a.m. will feature Portuguese cultural traditions and their unique and festive music. The Bazaar activities, set for after the opening ceremonies and ending at 3 p.m., will include auctions, games for all ages, religious articles and gifts, plants, baked goods, pickles and jams, produce and live entertainment. There will be lots of delicious food to enjoy including plate lunches, fresh hot malasadas, thirst quenchers, treats and the ever favorite and sought after Filipino dishes and goodies.
You certainly won’t want to miss out on the exciting live auction of our renowned Charola. People come from miles around to witness and take part in this event. The Portuguese Cultural Club of Hamakua painstakingly put many days of work into creating this masterpiece in the shape of a bell symbolizing an offering of thanksgiving for all of the blessings received throughout the past year. The clapper from the bell is an actual bottle of wine. It is indeed a spectacle to behold. The charola is auctioned off numerous times and the winning bidders are awarded a special bottle of wine for their generosity.
Come to Our Lady of Lourdes Church at 45-5028 Plumeria St. in Honokaa on Aug. 3 for a great day filled with fun, relaxation, entertainment, ono food, bargains galore and a whole lot more. It is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with old friends and make new ones, as well, all while enjoying what our mixed cultures have to offer.
They look forward to having you join in the fun.
If you need to know more about this event, call the church at 775-9591.
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Hamakua Sugar Plantation Days Festival is fast approaching and here is the latest news.
The date to remember is Saturday, Aug. 16. Starting at 10 a.m., the town from the Honokaa Peoples’ Theatre to Ikeuchi B and Sons and Grandma’s Kitchen will be closed for foot traffic until 5 p.m. Then, pack up your favorite potluck dish or dessert (yum) or bring a canned good donation for Honokaa’s food pantries and come to Honokaa School Cafeteria for socializing and dinner eating.
Past experiences have proven to be excellent examples of our sharing local culture; to be sure the tables will be piled high. And just in case, Kalua and cabbage will be the main course. There will be lots of enjoyment and merriment between 6-8 p.m.
The daytime entertainment will include the Portuguese Heritage Club, which is planning to perform two dances and have a short “fashion show.” The club also will be selling pickled pork (vinha d’Ahls) sandwiches and bowls, as well as Portuguese hot dogs.
Other entertainment from our Hawaiian, Puerto Rican and Filipino groups will follow.
One of the booths will showcase the Hamakua Youth Foundation (HYF), which will be selling T-shirts for this event. The shirts will be an ash grey with a large picture on the back and a small pocket design. The picture will be a cane truck in the fields receiving a load of cane. Pre-sale orders are now available. Call 775-0976 to make arrangements for payment. Only a limited amount of shirts will be printed.
T-shirt prices are as follows: Small to XL, $16; 2XL and 3XL, $20. The HYF is hoping to have the shirts available for sale on “First Friday,” Aug. 1. Shirts also will be available at the event if there are any remaining.
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Basic mediation training is coming to Waimea from Aug. 15-17 to teach dispute resolution and effective communication skills. Learning to negotiate lasting solutions that peacefully settle disputes and becoming a more effective communicator — these are valuable 21st century skills that can benefit most everyone, but it requires training and practice.
West Hawaii Mediation Center will present a three-day, 24-hour training course in basic mediation open to those interested in becoming a volunteer mediator and those who think this type of advanced communication skill building would help them in their family, workplace and community.
The 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday through Sunday training will introduce communications skills to help parties resolve differences.
“People in conflict often focus on each other as the problem, going head to head. Mediation helps people focus on the issues, not on each other, so they can see that they have a joint problem to solve,” say mediation experts.
This training will focus on approaches for dealing with people in conflict using the Hawaii model of mediation, which was designed to be very successful with culturally diverse participants.
People from all walks of life, educational experience and personality can become effective mediators, though they do share a common desire — to help resolve conflict in a peaceful and lasting way. Leading the training will be two experienced mediators — Diane Petropulos, M.A., and Franco Acquaro, Ph.D.
Petropulos is a lead mediator with Mediation Services of Maui, where she handles cases in court and at the agency. She has extensive background in legal education as the former director of the Sonoma State University Attorney Assistance Program, where she taught paralegal and conflict resolution courses. Deeply committed to the benefits of mediation, she provides follow-up mentoring for new mediators and also advanced workshops for experienced mediators.
Franco Acquaro is a former executive director of West Hawaii Mediation Center. He is a Hawaii-licensed psychologist and currently is the associate director and clinical psychologist at Kipuka o ke Ola, Waimeaʻs Native Hawaiian Health Clinic. Franco also is an ordained Buddhist priest.
Upon completing this training, individuals are invited to become volunteer mediators with West Hawaii Mediation Center, facilitating conversations in which people find participatory solutions to the inevitable conflicts that arise in any community.
Tuition for the training is $125 per person, which includes training materials and lunch daily. Deadline to apply is Tuesday, Aug. 5. For information and to apply, contact Chelsea at West Hawaii Mediation Center at 885-5525 or email CM@whmediation.org.
For more information about the purpose and benefits of mediation, and about West Hawaii Mediation Center, go to www.whmediation.org.
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The Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association is having its monthly meeting at 10:45 a.m. Aug. 5 at the Wainaku Center.
This is a general membership meeting that will include information about committee reports on research, food safety and membership. There also will be discussion about the recent annual meeting/conference, as well as an update about legislative funding for the Felted Coccid.
To submit items for Kokua Way, email Carol Yurth at waiukahenutz@gmail.com.
