Ke Kukui Foundation Expands “4 Days of Aloha” Thanks to Our Nations’ Spaces Grant

The aloha spirit flowed and coalesced to bring Hawai’i to the Pacific Northwest.  “Off the islands” Native Hawaiians and non-Natives came together in July 2019 at the 17th annual “4 Days Of Aloha” in Esther Short Park in Vancouver, Washington to experience true Hawaiian culture — singing, drumming, hula dancers of all ages and skills, vibrant leis, and Native arts.

Thanks to a 2019 First Peoples Fund Our Nations’ Spaces (ONS) grant, event host Ke Kukui Foundation was able to extend the three-day festival to a fourth day. The additional day included Pa’ina (a gathering that involves food and eating), Hapa Haole Hula Competition, Ho’ike (to showcase what they learned), a 5K Aloha Fun Run, coconut weaving workshops, and fresh lei making. It also highlighted other ethnic and Indigenous groups through a multicultural showcase that included Japanese Taiko drummers, Chinese lion dancing, Filipino dancing, and blessings from the Cowlitz Tribe. Attendance at the event nearly doubled from 23,000 visitors in 2018 to 42,000 in 2019.

“The thing I’m hearing about a lot now is the spirit within the people,” said Kaloku Holt (Native Hawaiian). “The people attending, the vendors, all the staff that is involved, presenters, instructors; there’s just a spirit of aloha that you [normally] only find in Hawai’i. You’re [now] finding it in Vancouver, Washington.”

When the longtime leader of the event, Deva Yamashiro (Native Hawaiian), passed a few years ago, her son Kaloku took the lead. Kaloku is a 2016 First Peoples Fund Artist in Business Leadership fellow and Executive Director of the Ke Kukui Foundation. Through funding from the ONS grant, he spearheaded expanding the “4 Days of Aloha.” The expansion created opportunities to involve more Hawaiian artists, bringing them from the islands to teach cultural workshops so that Native and non-native families could experience a one-of-a-kind encounter with Hawaiian culture in the Pacific Northwest.

“It’s an amazing thing to step back and watch it unfold,” Kaloku said.

“Teaching about Hawaiian cultural traditions is important to those family members that have moved to the Pacific Northwest that are far removed from their ancestral roots in Hawai’i,”

Ke Kukui Foundation, based in Vancouver, was founded in 2007. Its goal is to provide programs in and for the community, its elders (kupuna), and its youth so that the young ones can learn the traditions and ways of the Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and become cultural bearers for future generations in the Pacific Northwest. In 2010, the foundation opened the Ke Kukui Arts and Cultural Center, which gave them a place to offer cultural programs and workshops, as well as a place for the youth to gather and learn from their kupuna. Ke Kukui Foundation believes it is essential for Native youth to learn about their cultural heritage even though they do not live on their homeland.

“Teaching about Hawaiian cultural traditions is important to those family members that have moved to the Pacific Northwest that are far removed from their ancestral roots in Hawai’i,” said Vicky Holt Takamine (Native Hawaiian). She is a longtime FPF partner, kumu hula (master teacher of Hawaiian dance), and Executive Director of the PAʻI Foundation. Known as the kumu of Hawai’i’s kumu, Aunty Vicky, as she is known by many, has traveled to share her mana’o (thoughts or ideas) and talents at the Days of Aloha event, offering participants a rare, unique experience to learn from renowned kumu.

“I taught two classes, and then we showcased that class at Esther Short Park with all the visitors and family and friends that came out to see what was happening,” Vicky said. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to work with the Ke Kukui Foundation for the last 17 years. They’re so enthusiastic. It’s really amazing because people came from as far as New Jersey and Canada, and all along the Pacific Northwest, and California, to learn hula.”

Each year, the festival opens the door for Native artists to move beyond their own space to access a new market and for Native performing arts groups to share their history, talents, and culture before thousands of spectators. The festival is a vehicle for current and new Native artists to express their craft.

Since adding the fourth day and actively increasing the foundation’s presence in the community, the Ke Kukui Foundation now works with new vendors, officials, and other organizations in the community and beyond. This happened by continuing to promote the aloha spirit, reaching out to new Native artists, tapping their skill sets, and using that focus to strengthen ongoing and new relationships within and beyond the community.

The family-friendly event draws in thousands of visitors each year, gaining recognition and positive momentum for the foundation. It creates visibility in the community and sets an example of building positive impact for the youth. Families come to enjoy Hawaiian culture through workshops, the variety of products from Hawai’i, and watching performing arts on stage.

There is something for everyone, and it is encouraged to participate together in aloha. The foundation hopes people “walk away with their hearts feeling full from the friendships, knowledge, and meaningful memories gained.”

The spirit of aloha that comes from within, once demonstrated by Deva Yamashiro, now lives through the seeds she planted. Reconnecting Native Hawaiians with their culture is a huge part of the festival’s mission — a way of glueing the community together simply by sharing aloha.

Note: Our Nations' Spaces grants expand opportunities for Native performing artists within and beyond their own communities and are generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.