ByDean Sensui, Star-Bulletin
Savanna Cruz has a bit of a wait before representing
the island of Molokai as a princess in the Lincoln Elementary
School Lei Day program held today. The girls represent the
major islands in the Hawaiian chain.

---

Lei Day celebration
filled with flowers

Choy wins lei contest for third year

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

Across the state, flowers and pageantry filled the air yesterday and this morning as the state traditionally celebrated May first as Lei Day, instead of the continental "May Day."

Elementary schools held celebrations crowning Lei Day kings, queens and princesses. Leis and aloha were exchanged and many a newcomer was introduced to this uniquely Hawaiian holiday.

Star-Bulletin photographer Dean Sensui stopped by Lincoln Elementary School in Ewa and brought back a little taste of Lei Day in Hawaii.

ByDean Sensui, Star-Bulletin
Jayson Medeiros is crowned king for a day by his mom,
Charlene Lei Nakashima. Medeiros served as king
in the Lincoln school Lei Day court.

---

Lei making contest

Brian Choy of Honolulu won the grand prize in the city lei-making competition at Kapiolani Park for the third year in a row.

The dozens of entries in the annual contest were to be placed at the Royal Mausoleum in Nuuanu this morning.

Choy's creation that won the Mayor's Grand Prize included a variety of nontraditional flowers including hydrangea, aster, lavender, freesia and delphinium. He also won first prize in the brown/green/white lei and native flora categories.

The 70th annual Lei Day program yesterday was brought back to the Waikiki park after three years of being staged in commercial locations. A Hawaii Government Employees Association strike in 1994 threatened to close the event, but Hilton Hawaiian Village offered space. The program was at the Hilton a second year and at Ward Centre last year.

Other winning lei-makers were, in order of first, second, third and fourth place:

Program theme "never fading lei": Hanai Hayashida, Gary Beltz (2nd and 3rd place), Louis Ko.

Blue/violet: Marie McDonald, Muriel Kaya, Bill Char, Melvin T. Labra.

Brown/green/white: Brian Choy, Melvin T. Labra, Suzan Harada, Bill Char.

Orange/yellow: Bill Char, Melvin T. Labra, Muriel Kaya, Roen Hufford.

Pink/red: Bill Char (1st and 2nd place), Happy Tamanaha, Muriel Kaya.

Native flora: Brian Choy, Charlene Choy, Bill Char, Melvin T. Labra.

Novice, hat lei: Michael Prine, Veronika Rose, Bradford Lum, Leimomi Chun.

Novice, kui lei: Amy K. Mills, Edwin I. Asato (2nd, 3rd, 4th places).

ByDean Sensui, Star-Bulletin
The Lincoln Elementary first grade class
went "paniolo" for Lei Day.

---

ByDean Sensui, Star-Bulletin
Lincoln Elementary Lei Day king and queen, Jayson
Medeiros, left, and Andrea Simpliciano preside over
the annual school pageant.

---