LIHU‘E — The first 150 girls between the ages of 8 and 12 at an event Saturday will have an opportunity to give Kanani a home.
The Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau and the Kaua‘i Monk Seal Watch Program is hosting a drawing contest for girls 8 through 10 years old, and between 11 and 12 years old at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort.
Registration opens at noon with the drawing starting promptly at 1 p.m.
Required registration information includes name, age as of March 26, date of birth, phone number and the name of parents or guardians.
Young girls interested in participating should have their parent or guardian fill out an entry form at the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau, or by calling 245-3971.
Registration continues on weekdays through the close of business, Wednesday.
If all 150 spaces are assigned prior to Wednesday, the registration will close, according to a KVB release.
Participants will be provided with the same set of crayons, colored pencils and paper, all being provided through the courtesy of Janie Whitehead, manager of the Kaua‘i Walmart.
Drawing requirements will be announced at 1 p.m. and the girls will have 45 minutes to create their artwork.
No parental coaching will be allowed, and during the contest phase, only contestants will be allowed into the ballroom.
First prize for both divisions is a Kanani doll and an autographed copy of “Aloha Kanani” book. Second place for both division are autographed copies of “Aloha Kanani” and “Good Job, Kanani,” and third place for both divisions is an American Girl plush seal.
Lsa Yee, author of “Aloha, Kanani,” the book which accompanies the Kanani doll, and “Good Job, Kanani,” will lead the girls through short speeches and group activities while the artwork for both divisions are being judged.
Jennifer Hirsch, executive editor at American Girl Publishing, will also be on hand to help award the prizes.
Yee and Hirsch will be available at a free event, Tuesday evening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Resort and Spa in Po‘ipu where they will discuss their professional lives and careers with Kaua‘i residents.
Yee, a noted children’s author, will be the featured speaker in her first Kaua‘i appearance, sharing the secrets to becoming a best-selling writer, where her ideas come from, how long it takes to write a book, who inspired her, and other topics.
Kaua‘i, and the Hawaiian monk seal play an important role in the “Kanani” stories for American Girl, and Yee will explain why it was such an important choice for her location.
Hirsch will open the gathering with background about how American Girl selects each Girl of the Year, and why Hawai‘i, and more specifically, Kaua‘i, were selected for 2011.
As part of its Shine On Now charitable efforts, American Girl will contribute to the National Wildlife Federation when a Kanani plush seal is purchased.
“Aloha Kanani” and “Good Job, Kanani,” both authored by Yee, will be available in exchange for donations to KMSWP at the Grand Hyatt event with Yee being available to autograph the copies.
Single copies of “Aloha Kanani” are available for a cash donation of $10, and both books are provided for a donation of $15, or more.
The American Girls’ Girl of the Year 2011 doll, Kanani, is not sold on Kaua‘i. It is only available at American Girl Place stores, at Americangirl.com, or through the American Girl catalogue.
Tim Robinson, KMSWP project coordinator, served as a consultant to both Yee and Hirsch through the development of both books and associated products for Kanani.
On Thursday, Dr. Charles Littnan, head of the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, will off a Hawaiian monk seal presentation at the Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center from 7 to 9 p.m.
Littnan will present a variety of information, video, and personal experience from encounters with the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals.
