Stories from the Field: 2nd Annual Puakalehua Celebrate ‘Ohana Festival
Early learning provides a strong foundation for children to be successful lifelong learners…and it can be a lot of fun, too!
'Ohana Festival sign in front of the Keiki Museum at the King’s Shops makai entrance
Early learning is especially beneficial for the whole ‘ohana when everyone gets involved. That’s because playing and enjoying time together is great for learning and for bonding.
So we’re so glad that the Puakalehua Early Learning Consortium’s 2nd Annual Celebrate ‘Ohana Festival was able to welcome ~1,500 people!
Department of Education Special Education staff inside the Keiki Museum.
The Festival
Last year was the inaugural Celebrate ‘Ohana Festival at Old Airport in Kona. The Puakalehua Early Learning Consortium brought in all kinds of food, entertainment, and community service and early learning providers. The first event included Consortium members such as: Department of Education, Hawai‘i Community Colleges, PATCH, Family Support Hawai‘i, Association of Infant Mental Health Hawai‘i, Kamehameha Schools, Partners in Development Foundation, and Catholic Charities.
Many old and new faces joined this year at our larger event, where we had room for over 25 different organizations to meet attendees and provide fun keiki activities, freebies, and resources.
Agencies’ booths were spread along the shopping center’s central walkway, offering plenty of space and opportunity for families to visit the different service providers at their leisure. Each agency provided at least one craft or other interactive activity for keiki and their families. I didn’t have enough time to visit all of the booths in between my volunteer duties, but still went home with a few cute crafts, stickers, and coloring books!
Kamehameha Preschool students performing onstage.
There was also free face-painting and balloon art, raffle prize giveaways, and entertainment from local preschools, halau, and musicians.
In addition to the wonderful volunteer organizations, partnership with the Hawaii Keiki Museum granted free admission to the museum, as well as mini golf. Throughout the day, the museum was packed with excited keiki taking advantage of the fantastic interactive exhibits.
Overall, it was a lively event with a lot to offer families. We are so thrilled with how it went and all the support that made it possible!
Mahalos
Consortium leaders and MCs Lehua and Lorraine kept up with announcements, performances, and prize drawings all day.
We are so impressed by the tireless organizing and on-the-ground work by members of the Puakalehua Early Learning Consortium’s steering committee, of which we are a member.
The King’s Shops was a very helpful host, providing cheerful support with setup, cleanup, and equipment. Our other host, the Keiki Museum, provided space for booths in addition to offering free entry to the public, mini golf, and carnival food.
We are also grateful to the Consortium’s fiscal sponsor organization, Friends of the Future for back-end support.
And of course this wouldn’t have been possible without the financial support of the County of Hawaii – Early Childhood Resources.
We hope to hold another great event next year! Please consider donating to the event or Puakalehua in general at Friends of the Future’s donation page. You can also get in touch with Puakalehua on the website if you’re interested in partnering more directly.
Celebrate ‘ohana every day
While fun events like these are great, they do take a lot of coordination. We can’t hold them for families very often. Still, we believe that ‘ohana should be celebrated year-round.
When thinking about early learning, we encourage everyone to look beyond educational programing and activities. Children are always learning whether we notice it or not!
While we encourage families to visit places like the Keiki Museum, there is still so much value in play, exploration, and simply time spent together just about anywhere.
You can check out some ideas for ‘ohana learning by Kamehameha Schools here.
