When Lele Wale premiered at the University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz�’s in March, audiences embraced the original hana keaka (Hawaiian theatre work) inspired by the lived experiences of Lahaina after the 2023 Maui wildfires. This August, the production reaches the destination it was always meant for, home.

A company of 25 students, alumni, faculty and theatre professionals from UH ����ԴDz� will travel to Lahaina for four performances from August 7–8. Six members of the cast and crew are from Maui, including three cast members from Lahaina whose personal experiences helped shape the production.

For Maui native Ikaika Mendez, a UH ����ԴDz� master of fine arts candidate in and the writer and director of Lele Wale, bringing the production home is both meaningful and humbling.

“I’m hoping that, even though we’re three years later, it still sparks hope, it still sparks joy, and it still reveals to the community that the people are what make the place, and the place is what makes the people. I’m hoping this is a timeless experience where people can reminisce, but also have hope for a better future.”

Related UH News story: Lahaina’s story lives in new hana keaka production, February 5, 2026.

For Lahaina

Rather than recreating the tragedy of the fires, Lele Wale creates space for reflection, healing and connection through Hawaiian theatre, hula, music and storytelling.

Lele is the traditional place name for Lahaina. In ʻō������� �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language), lele wale evokes prayer and speaks to motion, as well as the act of releasing. The hana keaka is performed in a combination of ʻō������� �鶹��ý, �鶹��ý Creole English (Pidgin) and English intertwined with live music, hula and imagery.

The Lahaina performances are presented in partnership with Festivals of Aloha, with support from Hawaiian Airlines and the Wave of Harmony Foundation. Their sponsorship is helping transport the cast, crew and production from Oʻahu to Maui so the story can be shared with the community that inspired it.

“The significance of this hana keaka traveling to Lahaina is in the intention and creation of the work,” said Tammy �Ჹ������ʻō��ܲ� Baker, director and founder of the UH ����ԴDz� Hawaiian Theatre program. “The moʻō������� (story) encapsulated in Lele Wale was developed by a kama (child) of Maui for their community.”

As Lahaina marks three years since the wildfires, Lele Wale returns not as a finished work, but as an offering. It honors those who were lost, celebrates the strength of those who remain, and reminds audiences that the heart of Lahaina has always been and continues to be its people.

Ticket information

Performances are scheduled for Friday, August 7, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Saturday, August 8, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Haleakalā Ballroom at The Westin Maui Resort & Spa. .

—Name, term, title.

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Check back for more ʻō������� �鶹��ý.

—Moanikeʻala Nabarro, Office of Communications, Ke Kulanui o �鶹��ý ma Mānoa (University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa)

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Andrew “Keahi” Castro, a Windward Community College student, has created ������ō�Բ��Ա�, a free online platform dedicated to the Hawaiian strategy game kōnane, which was traditionally played with black and white stones. Inspired by his desire to reconnect with his heritage, Castro aims to bring the game into the digital age.

“I wanted to make sure a Hawaiian game had just as much intentionality and respect as chess,” Castro said. “I wanted everyone in the world to be able to play it.”

Using his background in mathematics and statistics, Castro spent years building . The platform features live multiplayer games, tournaments, puzzles and an artificial intelligence opponent named Lopako. Unlike many gaming sites, it is completely free and ad-free.

Connecting to culture

Castro developed the platform as a student in Windward CC’s fully online program in Hawaiian studies called .

His grandparents moved from Oʻahu to California in the 1950s. Raised in California and now living in Washington, Castro found the �鶹��ýloa program an essential bridge to his roots.
“I’ve always wanted to learn more about �鶹��ý and my culture,” Castro said. “�鶹��ýloa seemed like a great opportunity for it.”

Despite the distance, the �鶹��ýloa program fostered a strong sense of community, and Castro is on track to earn an associate degree in Hawaiian studies in the fall.

“The online classes have been great,” he said. “The classmates I’ve worked with have been great, and I’ve made some great connections. Even being far away, it’s helped me feel connected.”

For future generations

Castro is integrating ʻŌ������� �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language) throughout the site, including support for specialized characters in chat and usernames. He hopes to eventually offer an Hawaiian-language version.

Ultimately, he hopes the platform will preserve the game for future generations.

“Everyone was playing it,” Castro said. “It can be played all the time again.”

—By Nakoa Camvel

—Paddle (As a canoe).

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“E kaupē aku nō i ka hoe a kō mai (Put forward the paddle and draw it back).”

—Lanakila Grosse, he haumāna ʻōlelo �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu (Honolulu Community College)

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—Wild ginger.

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“Nui nā ʻawapuhi i koʻu māla (There is plenty of ginger in my garden).”

—Haʻaheo, he haumāna ʻōlelo �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu (Honolulu Community College)

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—Out of sight, hidden.

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“Aʻole au i ʻike ka puka komo i ke ala hekehi, ua nalo (I did not see the entrance to the hiking path, it disappeared).”

—Kiki, he haumāna ʻōlelo �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu (Honolulu Community College)

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—Handsome, pretty, lovely of fine appeareance; a handsome or fine looking person.

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“He nohea ʻoe i kuʻu maka (You are lovely in my eyes).”

—Kealiʻi DeMello, he haumāna ʻōlelo �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu (Honolulu Community College)

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—Mongoose.

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“Ua holo ka Manakuke ma luna o ke alanui (The Manakuke ran across the road).”

—Noel Mendoza, he haumāna ʻōlelo �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu (Honolulu Community College)

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at the University of �鶹��ý–W����� Oʻahu was selected to be a featured contributor to “,” an exhibit curated by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

The national online repository tells the story of our country in documents, according to the SAA website. Sourced from institutions across the U.S. and internationally, the collection aims to highlight the full range of America’s documentary heritage and the role archives have played in preserving and understanding our history.

ʻUluʻulu staff nominated , a film from its collection. Produced in 1987, the film features Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) discussing the contemporary meanings of mana (spiritual power) and kuleana (responsibility), and remains a valuable resource, offering profound insights into the Hawaiian Renaissance, its unresolved issues, and its enduring legacy.

“When the call for submissions came for this exhibit, I knew that it was important for ʻUluʻulu to participate so that we could share a perspective of U.S history from the viewpoint of �鶹��ý and our communities,” said Janel Quirante, head archivist at ʻUluʻulu.

The challenge was choosing just one film to represent their collection.

Native Hawaiian voices live on

“ʻUluʻulu staff voted and we enthusiastically selected Hawaiian Soul from the Victoria Keith Productions Collection to represent us and to highlight the exhibit theme of Unfinished Revolutions,” Quirante said. “Hawaiian Soul was produced in 1987, but its message of what it means to be Native Hawaiian in contemporary America still resonates today.”

Filmmaker Victoria Keith produced, directed and edited Hawaiian Soul, which was co-produced by Naomi Sodetani.“I consider the selection of Hawaiian Soul for this special ‘250 for the 250th’ exhibit to be the honor of a lifetime!” Keith said. “To think this documentary, produced nearly 40 years ago, is going to be made visible again for new generations is an amazing experience.”

Keith added, “Mahalo to the ʻUluʻulu staff for such wonderful support, and of course to the amazing people who shared their manaʻo (ideas) in the video. May their voices live on and be shared through this significant historic exhibit! I am thrilled and excited to be a part of it!”

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—By Zenaida Serrano Arvman

—Humpback whale, forcing up the water like waves hitting a reef, reef flats.

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“E ola i ke kai ma ka leo o nā koholā (The sea is alive with the voices of the humpback whales).”

—Hunter Landt, he haumāna ʻōlelo �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu (Honolulu Community College)

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—To embrace with arms, as in a hug, or holding an infant.

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“��ū�����쾱 wau i kaʻu mau keiki i kēlā me kēia lā. (I embrace my children every day.)”

—LaurieAnn Takeno, he haumāna ʻōlelo �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu (Honolulu Community College)

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It’s never too late to grow in new directions. For Scott “Uncle Scotty” Garlough, earning an associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Honolulu Community College is more than a degree—it’s planting seeds for the future.

Planting the first seed

Before enrolling at Honolulu CC, Garlough had built a life rooted in service. As operations manager at Hoʻoula ʻĀ���Բ�, a 100-acre nature preserve in Kalihi Valley, he has spent years helping restore native forests and supporting community health.

“In healing the land, we understand we are healing the community,” he said.

Although education was not a part of his original plan, a turning point came through the Ola Niuhelewai Program and encouragement from Kahale Saito and Kalei at Honolulu CC.

What began as a few Hawaiian language classes eventually grew into a full academic path. Over time, Garlough transitioned into the Liberal Arts program while continuing to take Hawaiian studies courses that aligned with his cultural work.

“Coming to school is my way of planting seeds,” he said. “The seeds will sprout when the conditions are just right.”

Blooming beyond the classroom

At Honolulu CC, Garlough found more than a classroom—he found community.

“I’m surrounded by people that I love who love me,” Garlough shared. As a peer mentor at the Hawaiian Center, he supports fellow students while continuing to learn from them. He also maintained a 4.0 GPA, balancing academics with community leadership.

Despite initial hesitancy about returning to school, Garlough pushed forward.

“All the things—‘I’m too old,’ ‘I don’t know how to use a computer,’ but once you start, it’s not as scary as you think,” he said.

Back to the roots

Garlough’s path to college was shaped by hardship. His mother was incarcerated during his childhood and passed away when he was 13. He spent years navigating homelessness, addiction and trauma.

Meet more amazing UH graduates

Reflecting back, he realizes he had people guiding him—his kupuna leading him toward the community college that has played such an important role in his family.

“It wasn’t until I felt love that I was able to transform myself,” Garlough said. “I listen to what my kupunas are telling me. I listen to the plants. They understand energy and come with good energy.”

The power of community

For Garlough, everything comes back to community.

“Healing a community takes a community,” he said. “We rely on communities in times of trouble, but we also should in prosperity.”

Through his work with organizations such as E Alu Pū and Mālama Loko Iʻa, he advocates for a Hawaiian cultural point of view. Everything he studied in the classroom has allowed him to give back to his community, from making hala sails to repairing the hale. Garlough also practices Uhau Humu Pōhaku, Hawaiian rock masonry, as well as fishing, lashing, and caring for fishponds.

Looking ahead

While earning his degree is a meaningful accomplishment, Garlough sees it as just the beginning.

“This is step one,” he said. “There are a lot of people out there with knowledge, but no pathway to share it. This gives me that opportunity.”

His ultimate goal is to continue planting the seed for others. He is passionate about helping people connect with themselves, their culture, and their community.

“Plant the seed,” Garlough advised. “Wait for it to grow.”

An innovative mass-timber public space designed for the Kakaʻako Ma kai shoreline was presented by University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa students at the 2026 International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, Oregon. “The Hale” integrates Indigenous architectural principles with modern sustainable materials to propose a new model for public gathering spaces in Honolulu.

The project was originally developed in a first-semester graduate design studio by architecture students Edwin Sun, Jayden Uowolo and Dylan Martos. Reimagining the traditional Hawaiian “place of shelter” as a contemporary civic space, the design adapted cross-laminated timber and glue-laminated timber systems for long-term performance in tropical marine environments.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to present my team’s work at the International Mass Timber Conference and represent the School of Architecture,” said Uowolo. “This experience pushed me to think more deeply about how traditional Pacific Island ideas can shape contemporary design, while also connecting me with a global community of designers, builders and thinkers. I left with a stronger understanding of how culture, material systems and industry all connect in the making of architecture.”

Addressing coastal challenges

The project addressed coastal challenges by elevating the structure to mitigate projected sea-level rise, storm surges and salt exposure. It also incorporated climate-specific durability strategies such as marine-grade coatings, protected steel connections and rainscreen façades integrated with cross ventilation.

Supported by School of Architecture Dean Mo Zell and guided by professors Ben Parker and Ho Kyung Lee, the students’ research also explored using locally harvested softwoods to strengthen regional supply chains and reduce transportation-related carbon emissions.

“Opportunities like this are so valuable to students,” said Parker. “They give them early exposure to the critical topics professional architects are discussing, and provide chances to network and connect with firms as they plan their own future careers. These events also enrich the school and the profession, as the exchange helps everyone to integrate education and research with real-world concerns.”

—West; Western Maui.

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“Kaulana nui loa ʻo Mokuʻula i Maui Komohana i kona kapu loa. (Mokuʻula Western Maui is very famous due to its sacredness.)”

—Melelani Seiki, he haumāna ʻōlelo �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu a me Ke Kulanui Kaiāulu o Maui (Honolulu Community College and �鶹��ýMaui College)

For more information on other elements of the definition and usage, go to the UH Hilo .

The University of �鶹��ý at Hilo and �鶹��ý Community College co-hosted , a dynamic, multi-day Earth Day celebration. Guided by the theme “Huli ka lima i lalo, ola” (hands that are turned down to do work, bring life), the event featured demonstrations, conservation efforts and speaker presentations designed to encourage the community to mālama ʻāina (care for our land).

A centerpiece of the celebration took place on Lā Honua (Earth Day) at UH Hilo featuring an Earth Day Fair for K–12 students and a Conservation Career Fair for college students.

Amy Fullerton, a second-grade teacher from �����Dz� Elementary School, emphasized the necessity of the event. “We need to teach the students about how important our earth is because it’s their future.”

Students were thrilled to engage in interactive activities outside the traditional classroom setting. From building their own water systems to learning about how camouflage helps animals in the wild to creating artwork using traditional Hawaiian materials and methods.

For UH Hilo faculty, engaging with the keiki provided a joyful change of pace. Professor Kerri Inglis spent the morning teaching children how to make ti leaf lei. Representing Hui Mālama Makanalua, an organization dedicated to honoring and remembering the residents of Kalaupapa on Molokaʻi, Inglis reflected on the university’s long-standing tradition to mark Lā Honua.

“We’ve all come to really appreciate our connections, and so taking the time once a year to celebrate Earth Day is important,” said Inglis, who chairs the Social Sciences Division in the . “It’s an opportunity to express gratitude for where we are and recognize that we’re responsible not just to this island, but our Earth is an island that we need to take care of as well.”

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—Fun; to have a good time.

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“E leʻaleʻa kēlā lā me kēia lā. (Everyday should be fun.)”

—Maluhia Nahuina, he haumāna ʻŌ������� �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu (Honolulu Community College)

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At the Merrie Monarch Festival, hula’s most celebrated stage, one hālau‘s story of change and renewal rose to the top in 2026.

Hālau Hiʻiakaināmakalehua earned top honors at the 63rd annual competition in Hilo, sweeping major categories. The group earned first-place finishes in kāne (men) overall, kāne ʻauana (modern hula), and both wāhine (women’s) kahiko (ancient hula) and kāne kahiko.

The hālau is led by Kumu Hula Robert Keano Kaʻupu IV, a graduate of Honolulu Community College.

“I’m still in shock,” Kaʻupu said. “I’m not surprised because they worked hard and they did exactly what they needed to do, but I’m in shock. This year more than ever it was the purpose of the journey, more than the destination. And so I am really appreciative for the recognition. There are no words to really describe what I feel.”

Turning point

The win followed a year of deep change.

Kaʻupu and Kumu Hula Lono Padilla founded the hālau together. In 2025, Padilla stepped away for personal reasons. The departure reshaped the Oʻahu hālau.

Kaʻupu described it as a time of upheaval. One that pushed both him and his haumāna (students) to reflect and rebuild.

“That’s part of the process,” he said. “Acknowledging the catastrophe, acknowledging the upheaval, acknowledging the overturn. Our lives were deconstructed and now let’s find the processes to reconstruct, rebuild, regenerate, re-energize.”

That idea guided their performances at this year’s festival.

Hulihia, overturning

Kaʻupu chose mele (songs) that mirrored both his experience and that of his hālau. Their performances centered on hulihia, a Hawaiian concept that speaks to overturning and transformation.

In the kahiko category, the wāhine performed hula kālaʻau (dancing stick) to Kau Kahaʻea Ke Ao Uahi I Luna. The mele is a creation story, where akua (deities) shape a submerged island still forming off �鶹��ý Island.

Kaʻupu‘s kāne followed with Hulihia Ka ʻĀpapa Ka Unu Koʻakoʻa O Ka Moana. Their performance evoked the ocean floor shifting and fire rising from below, as life emerges through heat and pressure.

Together, the pieces reflected a simple truth that change can be destructive, but it also creates space for renewal.

UH roots

Kaʻupu, a Keaukaha native, attended UH Hilo before moving to Oʻahu. He continued his studies at Honolulu CC, entering the cosmetology program and graduating in 2007.

“I thought I knew how to do hair until I went through the program,” he said. “They just expedited and transcended the technical skills for me. I am super, super grateful for that.”

For years, those skills helped shape his presence at Merrie Monarch, where he handled his dancers’ hair and makeup, an important part of the competition’s scoring. He also designs every costume, sketching ideas by hand before working with a seamstress to bring them to life. However, for each of his Miss Aloha Hula contestants, he sews each piece himself.

In many ways, that same cycle of creating, overturning and rebuilding reflects where Kaʻupu stands now, as he continues to grow into his role.

“Trust your gut, trust your kūpuna (elders),” he said. “Find the things that serve you and let go of the things that don’t. There’s always regeneration. You just have to trust the process.”

—by Moanikeʻala Nabarro

—Flying fish.

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“Ka iʻa lele me he manu (The fish that flies like a bird).”
ʻŌ������� Noʻeau (Hawaiian proverb) 1364

—Sean Mills, he haumāna ʻŌ������� �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language student), Kulanui Kaiāulu o Honolulu (Honolulu Community College)

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—Clever, Wise.

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“Makemake au e akamai kākou a pau (I wish that we may all become wise).”

—Karuna Wiese, ʻŌ������� �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language) Student, Honolulu Community College

For more information on other elements of the definition and usage, go to the UH Hilo .