WAIMEA — Jeanie and Walter Lutz will tell you straight — they are not your run-of-the-mill tourists. “We try to immerse ourselves in the culture and the local events,” Jeanie said. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” Walter
WAIMEA — Jeanie and Walter Lutz will tell you straight — they are not your run-of-the-mill tourists.
“We try to immerse ourselves in the culture and the local events,” Jeanie said.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” Walter added.
The Lutzs have been vacationing to Kauai for five years and have attended the Waimea Town Celebration for nearly as many.
On Sunday, after braving the intense weather to grab breakfast at Kauai Community College, the elderly Canadian couple drove to the island’s Westside for the Celebration of the Year of King Kaumualii.
Part of the annual Waimea Town Celebration, the daylong event honors the legacy of Kauai’s last king and featured games, guided tours, a three-act play depicting important historical events of the Kaumualii’s life and hula performances.
Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. described the last independent king of the islands of Kauai and Niihau, who reigned from 1794 to 1810, as a great leader.
“(This is a) wonderful opportunity to gather and focus on who King Kaumualii was and what he stood for, and tying that into our Waimea Town Celebration, and all the different activities that lay out this beautiful side of our island,” Carvalho said. “But at the forefront, Kaumualii’s presence.”
As the County of Kauai continues to move forward, Carvalho said it is important that government decisions tie into “who we are as people.”
Before turning over the microphone, Carvalho sang “Ekolu Mea Nui,” a hymn written in 1925 about the three most important things.
“I’m emotional inside because of just the presence,” he said, before starting the song over.
“Faith, hope and love,” he said when finished. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Sunday’s free event was held at the Westside location known commonly as the Russian Fort. But event organizer Puni Patrick said its traditional name is Paulaula, meaning red enclosure.
“This place could have been named for, obviously, the red dirt,” she said.
However, the site is very sacred, one where King Kaumualii walked and which was dedicated as an heiau for Ku, the god of war, according to Patrick.
“So there were human sacrifices done here,” she said. “So the name Paulaula could mean ‘the blood in the dirt.’”
The event included special hula performances by the students of Kumu Hula Leinaala Jardin, Sabra Kauka, Hiilei Kirkpatrick and Laamea Ochoco Almeida, with original songs written for Kaumualii and performed by Keikilani Lindsey, Cindy Combs, Elwood Machado and DJ Yaris.
The Lutzs said they are looking forward to the rest of the eight-day event, specifically Saturday’s ice cream eating contest, part of the Heritage of Aloha Hoolaulea finale.
It will be Walter’s fourth time participating in the event, after placing first, second and third — in that order — over the past three years.
“I’m going the wrong way,” he joked.
The Lutzs said they enjoy returning to the “beautiful” island of Kauai each year, a place full of culture and where they have made many close friends.
“I think that’s the big thing,” Jeanie said. “The aloha spirit.”
The Waimea Town Celebration continues today with the Waimea Film Festival, a full day of cultural documentaries and films, including four entries from the 2013 Hawaii International Film Festival that were not shown on Kauai.
For more information and a full list Waimea Town Celebration events through Sunday, visit www.waimeatowncelebration.com or call the Historic Waimea Theater at 645-0996.
