What does aloha look like? At Hoolaulea, Kamehameha Schools' annual fundraising event, it's kupuna (elders) helping visitors place lovely haku leis on their heads. It's children shouting with glee as they twist and turn on thrilling carnival rides. It's parents directing traffic, cooking malasadas and selling scrip. It's talented singers, dancers and musicians—both students and stars—providing nonstop entertainment.

When Patrice Perrin was a Kamehameha sophomore in 1980, she remembers watching Robert Cazimero's award-winning men's halau (hula troupe) perform. “;The crowd went wild,”; she recalled. “;You couldn't hear the music because of all the cheering. I felt proud to be a student of Kamehameha Schools, which was founded in 1887 as part of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop's trust. More importantly, I felt proud to be Hawaiian.”;

Perrin now also feels proud to be among the 1,200 people who organize and implement Hoolaulea. She has volunteered every year since 1993, when her older daughter, Tatiana, was a third-grader.

The Country Store was Perrin's first project. She happily received one family's donation of a facade that resembled a rustic store in Waiahole that she and her grandmother frequented when she was young. Perrin thought adding walls to the facade would make it look more realistic.

“;I got a tree-trimming company to drop off everything they had cut down during a full day of work, but I had no idea how I was going to build walls out of it,”; Perrin said. “;Luckily, my husband, who's in the construction business, stepped in to help, and voila—a store was born! We won the contest for best-decorated booth that year, and until this day the same facade is used for the Country Store.”;

Eight years later, when her second daughter, Lynsey, entered Kamehameha, Perrin decided to work on the kindergarten class's beverage booth.

“;I thought it would be easy, but two beverage booths were assigned to me!”; Perrin said. “;They were located at different ends of the event, and I must've logged eight miles that day, running back and forth between them.”;

Kamehameha Schools' sophomore class hosts Hoolaulea, meaning the students and their families coordinate the event and head the seven main committees (food, nonfood, donations, logistics, communications, finance and manpower). Tatiana is now a sophomore, so Perrin decided to take on the challenge of serving as overall co-chairwoman of this year's 80th-anniversary event.

“;The other co-chair is Bridget Nishimura,”; Perrin said. “;Tatiana and Bridget's son, Chad, have attended Kamehameha since kindergarten. In fact, it was through them that Bridget and I became best friends.”;

This year's theme is Hoihi Aku, Hoihi Mai (Give and Receive Respect). “;Hoihi (respect) is the core ethical value associated with the sophomore class, and it reminds us that we should continue to teach and show respect for Ke Akua (God), ourselves, others and the aina (land),”; said Be-Jay Kodama, Hoolaulea's public relations coordinator.

Headlining the entertainment roster this year will be the Kaala Boys, Kupaoa, Hoku Zuttermeister, Weldon Kekauoha, Leahi and Kamehameha Schools students from the fourth through 12th grades. Food booths will be selling Hawaiian and Korean plates, watercress stew, fried noodles, barbecue sticks, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken salad and other ono (delicious) favorites.

If you have a sweet tooth, you won't be able to resist cotton candy, chocolate-dipped bananas, fruit and haupia salad, kulolo (a pudding made of baked or steamed grated taro and coconut cream) and malasadas (last year, the line for these freshly made Portuguese doughnuts was 30 yards long all day). Hoolaulea's famous brownies will no doubt be another big seller; enjoy them there and buy the mix so you can make them yourself at home later.

The Garden Shop will be abloom with all kinds of plants and flowers; the Haku Lei booth will sell an array of gorgeous creations; and crowds will pack the Country Store, which will be stocked with jams, jellies, fresh produce, pickled onions and cabbage, handmade blankets, pillows, stationery, clothing and other enticing wares.

You can bid on dozens on fabulous silent-auction items such as Tahitian pearl jewelry, koa ukuleles, rounds of golf at resort courses and all sorts of themed gift baskets. Other diversions include crafts, rides and games galore.

“;Hoolaulea is an opportunity to strengthen our Kamehameha Schools ohana (family) and our sense of community and place,”; Kodama said. “;We invite everyone to join us and share the fun and camaraderie. It's a great way to spend a day in Hawaii and discover what aloha is all about.”;

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Bulletin have won multiple Society of American Travel Writers awards.