Head over to Kapiolani Park tomorrow and join the celebration at the Annual Lei Day Festival.
Enjoy a day of
fun and leis at
Kapiolani Park
The sight and scent of thousands of flowers will fill the air tomorrow as Hawaii celebrates May Day with Lei Day.
Put on a lei and head to Waikiki to enjoy the 77th annual Lei Day Festival at Queen Kapiolani Park, with its free day of music, craft demonstrations, food booths and lei contests for adults and teens. The lei contests are dubbed "Na Mele No Na Lei -- Songs of the Leis."
Lei entries will be received near the bandstand from 7:30 to 9 a.m. The adult contest will award cash prizes in three categories: neck leis (carnation, lehua, kikania, crown flower, green rose, ginger/orchid, kukui/maile/palapalae and rose), hat leis and theme leis. The most outstanding lei will receive the Mayor's Grand Prize.
Cash awards will also be given in the teen lei category for ages 13 to 17. For more information, call Dennis Wee at 692-5516.
Boys and girls 12 and under can also register at 8:30 a.m. for the Youth Lei Contest at 9 a.m. Winners in five age groups will receive cash awards. Call Rodney Sanbei at 692-5114 for more information on the youth contest. For details on any of the contests, visit the Web site www.honoluluparks.com.
The leis will be exhibited to the public from 1 to 5:30 p.m.
Entertainment begins at 10 a.m. with a Royal Hawaiian Band performance at the bandstand. Food and craft booths will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be an investiture ceremony of the 2004 Lei Queen and her two princesses at 11 a.m., and continuous music and dance from noon to 5 p.m.
The Lei Day celebration ends Sunday at 9 a.m., when all leis will taken to Mauna'ala, the Royal Mausoleum, at 2261 Nuuanu Ave., to be placed on the tombs of Hawaii's monarchs. There will a short program before and after the ceremony, which the public is invited to attend.
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