The Hanama‘ulu Neighborhood Association will be hosting a celebration and the re-opening of the Hanama‘ulu Beach Park this Saturday starting at 10 a.m. After weeks of work done by the county and numerous community volunteers and organizations, the HNA will
The Hanama‘ulu Neighborhood Association will be hosting a celebration and the re-opening of the Hanama‘ulu Beach Park this Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
After weeks of work done by the county and numerous community volunteers and organizations, the HNA will be hosting the celebration featuring entertainment, bouncers for keiki, bingo and lots of food contributed by Kaua‘i’s businesses and resorts.
The final push and clean up was done two weekends ago when more than 50 volunteers representing numerous community groups accomplished major tasks such as repainting of the picnic tables, power washing and painting the new pavilion, cutting back brush and weeds, and went so far as to clean the sides of the road leading to the park, said Pauline Ibia, a member of the HNA.
Seeds for this massive cleanup effort started in 2005 when concerned residents identified some of the issues in the community at one of the mayor’s Ka Leo O Kaua‘i meetings.
Cathy Simao, in a letter to George Costa, manager of the Hilton Kaua‘i Beach Resort, said in 2006, the Hanama‘ulu community was declared a “Weed and Seed” community, and under the Waele A Ola Hou program sponsored by the mayor’s anti-drug program, the community received funds to clean the community of illegal activities and replace the negative impacts by providing positive activities in the community.
This was the seed that started the community workdays that saw the old Hanama‘ulu cemetary emerge from the overgrowth of brush and grass.
That effort overflowed to encompass the Hanama‘ulu Beach Park and restore it to a place where people can enjoy it, Simao said.
During the cleanup, a sweep of the homeless and removal of derelict cars was conducted in partnership with the county’s Parks & Recreation department, the mayor’s Adopt-a-Park program and the Kaua‘i Police Department.
Saturday’s celebration is a culmination of all of these efforts, Ibia said, and is being made possible through a partnership with the Hilton Kaua‘i Beach Resort, Wal-Mart, the Kaua‘i Drug Court, the Kona Pua motorcycle club, Thy Word Ministries, the Kaua‘i Fire Department, Boy Scout Troop 168 with Vic Villon, scoutmaster, the county’s Prosecuting Office, and numerous volunteers.
The celebration will start with a blessing at 10 a.m. and run until 2 p.m.
