After two years of work, Storybook Theatre in Hanapepe is now in its final phase of construction of a peace park dedicated to Spark M. Matsunage, the late U.S. Senator who was born and raised in Hanapepe. The final phase of fundraising to finish the garden is entitled “Creating a pathway to peace, one brick at a time.” Engraved bricks are being sold to cover the winding pathway through the garden. See insert for fees.
Storybook Theatre was founded and incorporated as a non-profit in 1979 in Honolulu and co-founded by Mark Jeffers. In 1989 it was moved to Kaua‘i.
“The world is filled with good stories. Stories teach and entertain but more importantly they show us all what it is like to be a human being,” the theatre’s Web site states. “The storyteller must find and discern which are the best stories to hold and remember. The story of Sparky M. Matsunaga is such a story.”
The Storybook Theatre carries on an ancient oral tradition — a tradition of communication with moral and ethical standards through storytelling.
“Sparks was a hero and we need more heroes,” Storybook Theatre administrator Cindy Combs said.
Throughout Matsunage’s involvement in his hometown of Hanapepe, his service in the State Legislature and the U.S. Senate, he remained dedicated to the expansive ideology of world peace based on commonalties rather than divisions. This visionary, poet-philosopher and peace advocate was appointed in 1976 by President Jimmy Carter to conduct a commission to study theories, techniques and institutions involved with conflict resolution.
“By telling his story in the garden, we can show how Sparky’s philosophy is not only relevant today but greatly needed in creating a hopeful future for our youth,” the Web site states.
The organization’s focus is on the creation of television and movie production, as well as to provide direct educational story-enriched programs for at-risk youth. Television and radio storytelling shows feature Russell the Rooster.
“Our most recent group that came through was 50 kids from Kapa‘a,” Combs said. “They sang peace songs out here in the amphitheater and then Mark (Jeffers) played a talk show game with them.”
It has been a long journey creating the peace park as well as making creative programs happen. Fifty thousand dollars is needed to finish this project.
“Our last push to finish the garden includes putting in a service gate, a roof over our stage and the bricks that will circle the park,” Combs said.
The garden will have an entrance gate designed by the late Honolulu based architect and designer Kevin Chun.
“There’s a small door for keiki and a bigger entry for adults,” Combs said. “We have the design but it has not been made yet.”
Formally, the park is named the Spark Masayuki Matsunaga International Children’s Garden of Peace.
“If you keep children sacred, honor and respect the world in which they inhabit, then over time you begin to think as a child may think — that is to say with complete creative imagination,” said Mark Jeffers, co-founder and executive director of the theatre, in a press release. “What we have done here is to create a center for learning and a model for revitalizing a community with the principles of creativity at the center by building a theater, a media studio, a classroom and a garden of peace. At the heart of the model are the children.”
Want to buy a brick for peace?
Individual: $100
In memory of: $150
Business: $200
To pledge: visit storybook.org
