Kamehameha High School, Maui Campus won the 5th Annual Maui Mikoshi Design Contest for the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival. They were the winners for the second straight year. The theme “Experience the Wonder” played an integral part in their winning design. The group of students decided to design the mikoshi based on how the ocean connects all our cultures together thus enabling us to “Experience the Wonder.”     
It was very easy for the students to understand this theme.  The Kamehameha students are all connected by the ocean and are of Pacific Rim ancestry.  They all come from Hawaiian, Fijian, Tahitian, Samoan, Tongan, Chinese, Filipino and/or Japanese ancestry.
The design of the mikoshi had four gold canoe paddles on the top with greetings from the various Pacific Rim countries written on each side of the paddles.  The greetings were in Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, Maori, Fijian, Tahitian, Chinese and Japanese.
A lei was wrapped beautifully around the four paddles and eight greetings.  It looked as if the lei had brought all the Pacific Rim countries together as one and as if the lei was welcoming all the countries. 

The students were given the official Honolulu Festival happi as part of their prize.  They anxiously dressed in their happi and posed for their group picture with huge smiles on their faces.

The students wait anxiously for the unveiling of their mikoshi.This will be their first time to see it.	Mr. Mossman, teacher of the Japanese classes at Kamehameha High School, Maui Campus, coordinated the students’ project	A speech was given by one of the students.  It was a team effort.
It is finally time for the unveiling	The students get ready to unveil their mikoshi	We finally get to see the mikoshi!
The students will carry their mikoshi in the Grand Parade	The students wear their happi and get ready for their group picture	What a memorable high school experience for these Maui students!

THE 5th MAUI MIKOSHI EXPERIENCE    By Eugene Shikuma, Honolulu Festival Foundation Yuki Lei Sugimura (left) from the Japanese Cultural Society of Maui and Eugene Shikuma (right) Hawaii is indeed a very special place. In a world full of  conflicts among nations, cultures, and religions, Hawaii’s multi-ethnic people are able to coexist peacefully in a melting pot representing Caucasians, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and others. This harmony among different cultures evolved through many generations of immigrants who learned to respect, accept, and support other cultures, while simultaneously embracing the most hospitable host culture of all, the Hawaiian lifestyle concept of Aloha. It was my pleasure to accompany the 40 students, teachers, and chaperones from Kamehameha Schools Maui Campus, the winning school of the 5th Maui  Mikoshi Design Contest to participate in the 14th Honolulu Festival. As I watched and walked with them down Kalakaua Avenue during the Grand parade, it occurred to me how fitting and deserving these young people were to represent the youth of Maui from the school representing the true host culture of Hawaii. It is my sincere wish that they will become the future leaders of Hawaii who will continue to perpetuate Aloha. Mahalo to Island Air The Honolulu Festival Foundation would like to convey our warmest appreciation for the support and contribution extended by Island Air, complimentary roundtrip airfare for all the students and chaperones from Maui to Honolulu, so that the students of Kamehameha High School, Maui Campus were able to attend the 14th Annual Honolulu Festival. It is such gestures of generosity that enable our Foundation to continue with our educational outreach programs year after year. Island Air, thank you very much!

【14th Honolulu Festival Highlight article 】
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