{"id":129408,"date":"2020-10-27T11:45:29","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T21:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=129408"},"modified":"2020-10-27T13:21:53","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T23:21:53","slug":"ohia-love-fest-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/10\/27\/ohia-love-fest-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"\u02bb\u014chi\u02bba Love Fest celebrates one of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s most beloved plants"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"ohia<\/p>\n

All things ʻōhiʻa<\/span> lehua, the most abundant tree in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s native forest, will be celebrated during the ʻ\u014chiʻa<\/span> Love Festival<\/a>, which runs Monday, November 16\u2013Saturday, November 21, 2020. The week-long virtual festival pays homage to ʻōhiʻa<\/span> lehua trees, which are important to Native Hawaiian culture, and critical to recharging Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> aquifers and protecting our nearshore reefs. The festival also raises awareness about preventing the spread of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa<\/span> Death (ROD<\/abbr>) disease. <\/p>\n

The 4th annual event is free and open to the public, and will feature online workshops on ʻōhiʻa<\/span> seed sowing, identification and seed banking, hands-on demonstrations, keiki activities, music, ʻōhiʻa<\/span> themed keiki books storytelling, screening of the documentary Saving ʻŌhiʻa<\/span>–Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s Sacred Tree<\/em><\/a>, a pre-recorded field trip of a day in the life of an ʻōhiʻa<\/span> field crew, and a Bishop Museum herbarium and ethnology collection video with live panel discussion. Registration for events is available online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Ohia
ʻ\u014chiʻa<\/span> lehua blossoms over the Koolau mountains, Oʻahu<\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Starting on November 2, a free keiki crafts kit, which includes a coloring book, field guide, crafts and a sticker, is available while supplies last. The keiki kits can be picked up at the Hilo Public Library, Wailuku Public Library, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Library, Hanapepe Public Library, Kapaʻa<\/span> Public Library, K\u014dloa Public and School Library, L\u012bhuʻe<\/span> Public Library, Princeville Public Library and Waimea Public Library.<\/p>\n

“This event has usually been held on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island, but since it is virtual we can expand to a statewide, national and international level, and this is important because we have found ROD on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island, Kauaʻi<\/span>, Oʻahu<\/span> and Maui,” said Ambyr Mokiao-Lee<\/strong>, University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources<\/a> (CTAHR<\/abbr>) festival coordinator and ROD<\/abbr> statewide outreach coordinator. “Although we have found this disease on these islands, the vast majority of these forests are still healthy and we are working to protect them for future generations.”<\/p>\n

The festival is hosted by the ROD<\/abbr> program of UH<\/abbr>\u2019s CTAHR<\/abbr> Cooperative Extension Service. Other festival support comes from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, local invasive species committees, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Tourism, and the Omidyar ʻOhana<\/span> Fund of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Community Foundation. <\/p>\n

Visit the website<\/a> for a schedule of events, and visit Facebook<\/a> or Instagram<\/a> for updates. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The week-long virtual festival also raises awareness about preventing the spread of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa<\/span> Death disease.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[212,265,1411,1416,1018,9],"class_list":["post-129408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-cooperative-extension-service","tag-covid-19","tag-covid-19-uh-helps","tag-rapid-ohia-death","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t