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Monday, July 31, 2000
Star-Bulletin file photo
Aiea High School Na Ali'i are proud of their colors.
In the days before the Crips and the Bloods and the Young Republicans terrorized social workers, affiliation to specific colors was part of history.
"Americans" are red, white and blue. Irish are green or orange. Punahou grads are "buff 'n' blue." Canadians are plaid. School colors go back into the mists of time; sacred, revered and inviolate, unless your coach is June Jones.
According to a DOE spokesman, colors are still sanctioned, no matter what the gangs are wearing.
We checked the list of schools provided to florists for graduation ribbons and sure enough, every Hawaii school that offers a degree has colors. Some are cool, like Radford's black, white and red scheme, most are rote -- green and white, red and white, etc -- and some are downright scary, like Kalaheo's Dayglo orange and blue. "They are quite terrible because Kalaheo turned from an intermediate to high school pretty late, after all the good colors had been taken," groused one K-grad.
All schools have colors, that is, except for Olomana High School, which, alas, has no colors according to the official lists. This may be because Olomana is actually a collective of campuses and programs, including the detention and correctional facilities for the state. Kids in those programs are, technically, on loan from their original schools.
But we asked Olomana principal Estelle Wong if the school has colors. "Of course!" she said. "Green and white, a nice, bright, greeny green. Even if others don't think we have colors, WE think we have colors. Every school needs colors."
She'll offer posture and exercise tips beginning 7 p.m. at Linekona Arts Center, 1111 Victoria St.
The talk is sponsored by The Hawaii Stitchery and Fibre Arts Guild. For information, call 395-3537.
The performance, presented by the Hawaii United Okinawa Association, will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Tickets are $15, $20, $25 and $35, plus applicable service charges, available at the Blaisdell box office, Tempo Music and University of Hawai'i Campus Center.
For information, call 526-4400.
The story of Hawaii's last monarch will be presented at 3:30 p.m. in the University of Hawai'i at Manoa's Krauss Hall, Yukiyoshi Room 012.
Olds gained valuable perspective from her great-grandmother, who was a confidant of the queen and a lady-in-waiting to the queen's sister, Princess Likelike.
Lili'uokalani was also a renowned composer. Copies of the recently published "Queen's Songbook," a collection of 150 songs she wrote or composed, will be available at the event.
The concert is being presented by the UHM Committee for the Preservation and Study of Hawaiian Language, Art & Culture; Center for Biographical Research; and Outreach College. For more information, call 956-3836.
The theatrical production tells the story of Hawaii through chant, music and dance, beginning with the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant, and ending with a call for people of all cultures to reconnect with their ancestors, allowing the wisdom they possessed to live through the actions and voices of another generation.
Written and produced by the kumu hula, the work made its world debut in New York's Carnegie Hall in June, with a cast of 72 dancers, from teens to kupuna. Village Voice dance critic Elizabeth Zimmer reviewed the program, calling it "More compelling than 'Riverdance.' "
Tickets are $30, $40 and $45 reserved, plus applicable service charges. They are available at the Blaisdell box office and Ticket Plus outlets including Tempo Music stores, the UH Campus Center, Waikiki Beachcomber MTI travel desk and Foodland stores. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.tickets.com or charge by phone at 526-4400.
Residents, family and friends are invited to join the potluck event to share food, stories, talent and nostalgia for the old days.
No alcoholic beverages will be allowed, but other drinks are welcome, and paper goods, punch and entertainment will be provided.
