{"id":212750,"date":"2025-03-27T10:34:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T20:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=212750"},"modified":"2025-03-27T10:40:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T20:40:27","slug":"kamanele-park-110th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/03\/27\/kamanele-park-110th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Kam\u0101nele Park marks 110 years with UH<\/abbr> alumni support"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"community
Community members gather to celebrate Kam\u0101nele Park’s 110th anniversary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kam\u0101nele Park, a wahi pana (sacred place) in M\u0101noa, celebrated its 110th anniversary on March 15, 2025, with a special ceremony. The park, located mauka of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa campus on University Avenue, was originally dedicated on March 15, 1915, by Queen Liliʻuokalani<\/span> and Mayor John Lane. Many UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa alumni played key roles in the event and the ongoing preservation of the park.<\/p>\n

\"photo
Photograph of Queen Liliʻuokalani<\/span> and Mayor John Lane at Kam\u0101nele Park dedication on March 15, 1915 (Courtesy: Bishop Museum, obtained from Bouselog et al.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The anniversary event hosted by ʻEhiku<\/span> Hanauna recreated elements of the original dedication, including a pule (prayer) in ʻŌlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and English by Kuʻulei<\/span> Serna, a professor in UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s School of Teacher Education. Attendees enjoyed a cappella performance of “Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Ponoʻi<\/span>” by Aspasia Hong and the hula “Nani M\u0101noa” by ʻImiloa<\/span> Borland. In a symbolic tribute, 10 girls offered ʻImiloa<\/span>
\nhoʻokupu<\/span> (lei offerings) to the park\u2019s heiau rock feature, proclaiming, “I name thee, o park, Kam\u0101nele!”<\/p>\n

With deep historical ties to the community, Kam\u0101nele Park was also the site of UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s Lei Day celebration in 1934.<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> alumni, community stewardship<\/h2>\n

The event highlighted the ongoing stewardship of Kam\u0101nele Park by ʻEhiku<\/span> Hanauna, a nonprofit that formally adopted the park through Honolulu\u2019s Adopt-a-Park program. Several of its leaders, including June Rae Hee, Jackie Osumi, Hiʻilei<\/span> Serna and H\u014dk\u016b Serna, are Â鶹´«Ã½M\u0101noa alumni. Sen. Carol Fukunaga recognized founding president Vanessa Distajo for the group\u2019s contributions to preserving the heiau.<\/p>\n

\"Ehiku<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> alumni Rosanna Thurman and Catharine Thetford, leaders of OASES<\/abbr> (Oceanic Archaeological Science Educational Services), were honored for their archaeological fieldwork and preservation plan. Cultural resource expert Keʻalohi<\/span> Reppun, another UH<\/abbr> alumna, was also recognized.<\/p>\n

Among the attendees was UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa archaeology professor James Bayman, supporting his former students. He was surprised to see Jasper Distajo, a freshman in his class, at the event. When Distajo shared that he had volunteered at the site since childhood, someone jokingly asked Bayman if extra credit was in order. Smiling, he replied, “There\u2019s no need when said student is already earning an A.”<\/p>\n

“Kam\u0101nele Park\u2019s anniversary celebration was a testament to the lasting connections between the local community and UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa,” said Vanessa Distajo. “Through research, cultural preservation, environmental stewardship, and volunteerism, students and alumni continue to honor and safeguard this sacred place for future generations.”<\/p>\n

\"may
UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s Lei Day celebration at Kam\u0101nele Park in 1934 (UH<\/abbr> Yearbook, 1934).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The event honored the park\u2019s history, with Â鶹´«Ã½M\u0101noa alumni playing a key role in preserving and enhancing the space.<\/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":[679,643,225,1465,9],"class_list":["post-212750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-anniversary","tag-history","tag-manoa-native-hawaiian-place-of-learning","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212750"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212868,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212750\/revisions\/212868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}