LIHU‘E — The forests, home to a lot of materials gathered by Hawaiian lei makers, are on the verge of losing a lot of their offerings, most notably, the endemic plants which can be found nowhere else. This prompted the
LIHU‘E — The forests, home to a lot of materials gathered by Hawaiian lei makers, are on the verge of losing a lot of their offerings, most notably, the endemic plants which can be found nowhere else.
This prompted the Kaua‘i Museum ‘ohana to create a special award that would bring more awareness to the plight of the Hawaiian forests, the award being the Kaua‘i Museum 25th Anniversary Award that was won by Kirby Guyer.
“I’m so happy, but especially because it’s this award,” Guyer said following the acceptance of the award. Guyer’s winning entry was comprised of items that would have placed it in the orange and/or yellow category because of the many flowers and materials that can be found in backyards instead of ravaging through the forests.
“I worked on it until five this morning,” she told spectators who admired her winning lei.
Obviously pleased with her award, Guyer added that there have been many “empty” years along the road to getting this prestigious ribbon and award.
Carol Lovell, the museum’s director, noted that as part of museum leaders’ efforts to raise awareness of the forests’ plight, they hosted officials of the Kauai Native Plant Society, who had a booth where people could purchase Hawaiian plants to plant in their own yards.
With greed motivating a lot of the ravaging of forests, she said, museum leaders hope that more lei makers will become aware of the delicate ecosystem that makes up the forests, and will also start growing a lot of material they utilize in their own yards.
“If I don’t pick ‘em, someone else will,” is the sentiment Lovell hears from lei makers. This type of attitude would’ve earned a quick slap on the mouth from kupuna in other times, but in today’s society, it is accepted, with the result being the depletion of many of the lei materials growing in the forests.
The second award that was added to this year’s competition gives tribute to the foresight and vision of Irmalee Pomroy, who, when she worked at the museum, helped start the first Hawaiian lei contest 25 years ago.
Lovell said it is the desire of the museum leadership to give credit where credit is due, and without Pomroy’s vision, there might not be a lei contest today.
Jodi Gardner, utilizing the grass found growing near Nawiliwili Harbor and weaving it between agapanthus (blue lily) blooms, earned the Irmalee Pomroy Award for that creation. Many spectators noted that they would never have thought that simple things like grass growing on the side of the road could be used to create award-winning lei.
Irmalee Pomroy, and her husband Walter Pomroy, were also recipients of several awards, Irmalee Pomroy taking the Kaua‘i Marriott Resort & Beach Club Award, while Walter Pomroy was named the winner of the Ginger Alexander/Original Lei Maker Award, as well as the Peace Award.
Kalei Cadawas was also a multi-award recipient, as he was announced the winner of the Mayor’s Award as well as the Family Flower Farms award, while placing first in the orange and/or yellow, and the white and/or green color categories.
Kaua‘i Museum leaders have been steadfast in keeping the tradition of Lei Day on May Day, regardless of the date May 1 falls on, this year being a Sunday.
And for many of the crafters and vendors in the surrounding tented areas, business was brisk throughout the day, as Lovell noted that the line to enter the museum snaked along the side-walk and around the corner when the doors opened at noon yesterday. “It was like that for several hours,” one vendor noted. “But, the wait to enter the museum wasn’t long.”
- Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
