King Students Triumphant At Unique Cultural Scavenger Hunt

King Intermediate School's team of scavengers - (from left) Ka'ili and Austin Montgomery, team leader Colleen Everett and Harlee Jay-Pedro - claim their prize at last month's cultural and historic scavenger hunt in Windward Oahu sponsored by Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club. Photo from Mahealani Cypher.

(The ‘Imi Na’auaoKane’ohe team also had arrived an hour before morning check-in to pore over details of the ahupua’a brochure.)

The day’s events elevated cultural awareness for all involved, and the public who stopped to ask what all the commotion was about. And their stories illustrated how special the experience was. One volunteer, for example, encountered a kupuna who had lived her entire life in an area but had never heard the ancient mo’olelo of that ahupua’a.

Another pledged to return with her keiki so they could experience the mana that each wahi pana (celebrated site) contained. Another had never traveled across Moli’i Fishpond, but was invited to do so by a Kualoa Ranch employee and was able to experience something so special.

The Ko’olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club extends its mahalo to all the groups and organizations who participated, the individuals who generously volunteered their time, Windward Mall and IHOP for allowing use of their facilities, and generous sponsors who made this event possible: Hawaiian Memorial Park, Native Hawaiian Community Development Corp. and HMS Host.