WAIMEA — Melissa and Dennis Darby of Portland, Oregon, were intrigued by the technological offerings at Pa‘ula‘ula, or the Russian Fort, on Sunday during the King Kaumuali‘i Festival. They listened to the explanation by Chris Fayé of using cellphones at
WAIMEA — Melissa and Dennis Darby of Portland, Oregon, were intrigued by the technological offerings at Pa‘ula‘ula, or the Russian Fort, on Sunday during the King Kaumuali‘i Festival.
They listened to the explanation by Chris Fayé of using cellphones at designated stanchions to get video of the area facing them on a self-directed tour of Pa‘ula‘ula.
“This is interesting,” Melissa Darby said. “I’m an archaeologist and spend some time at Fort Vancouver. They should be using this kind of technology as well. They should have had this when we were in Europe last year.”
The technological marvel was made possible through the sponsorship by Island Air, its presence being advertised by a half-fuselage where visitors could snap selfies and other social media pictures.
“They’re giving away a number of free plane tickets during the Waimea Town Celebration,” said Fayé. “The locations will be marked by the fuselage.”
The Sunday event also featured hula tributes to Kaumuali‘i by students of KANAKA Charter School and Hui Hula o Kehaulani, and was embellished with the offering of makahiki games. Cassie Newcomb noted that these were the very games Kaumuali‘i played during his time.
Aletha Kaohi stayed close to the maquette of Kaumuali‘i, a 3-foot rendering of an future statue which will stand 7 feet tall and be situated somewhere at Pa‘ula‘ula. She offered tales of Kauai’s last king and accepted contributions for the proposed statue.
The King Kaumuali‘i Festival was joined Sunday by the Mana Time Trial, operating for the first time under the Waimea Town Celebration umbrella. A Kauai Cocktails and Cuisine event held Saturday night launched the eight days of events making up the Waimea Town Celebration.
Following a week of historical films at the historical Waimea Theater, an Ambassador of Aloha event honoring Chucky Boy Chock for his work with the Kauai Museum and the Polynesian Voyaging Society, and Cherry Cherry, the Neil Diamond tribute band from Seattle, as well as story-telling with treats from Kauai Chocolate Company, cupcakes from Kuppycakes by J, and Lokelani ice cream from Super Duper II, the Waimea Town Celebration kicks into high gear on Friday and Saturday with a range of sporting events and the Heritage of Aloha Ho‘olaule‘a.
