Tag Archives: Hawi

Kamehameha Day

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The statue of King Kamehameha is draped with leis as part of the proceedings.
A rider in the parade as it passes through Hawi.

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Summer Traditions.’ See more responses here.

Some summer traditions, such as barbecues and going to the beach are year-round here, but Kamehameha Day is an event that kicks off summer, occurring as it does in mid-June. There’s a ceremony at the king’s statue in Kapaau, a parade through the community, and festivities at the local park. Many places mark the king’s birthday with similar events, but some take place on the Saturday nearest his birth date. In North Kohala, the king’s birthplace, the celebration is always on the actual date regardless of which day it falls on.

This year though, the celebration was one of a multitude of events cancelled because of the Covid-19 virus. These photos are from previous years’ events.

Hula dancers dance in front of the statue during the opening ceremonies.

Tenting for termites

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This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Home.’ See more offerings here.

Here in Hawaii, home is where the termites are, and if nothing is done about them, they will literally eat you out of house and home. So every few years most houses get tented and filled with poisonous gas. Best not to be home at the time. The house stays tented overnight to give the gas time to seep into all the nooks and crannies. Next day, the tent is removed and the homeowner is supposedly guaranteed a few more years of termite-free living.

This was a neighbor’s house, and every time I see a tented house like this, I think of circuses.

Signs: Sign of the times

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This sign went up on one of the stores in downtown Hawi recently. Many local stores rely on tourism to make ends meet, but there are virtually no tourists. Not that it matters, because non-essential businesses have been shut down for a couple of months anyway. Some businesses are now being allowed to open again, but a cautious approach is being taken – rightly in my opinion – and it’s likely a fair number of enterprises will never reopen.

Ironically, it was just over a year ago that I did another post about this shop (here). It was after that episode that Hawaii Cigar & Ukelele expanded in to the newly vacated space. But now they’re both vacant and not likely to be filled until something approaching normalcy returns to the area.

Hydration station

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This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Working Together.’ See more responses here.

The Ironman World Championship race is held here every year in October. Last year, there were nearly 2,500 competitors so it’s a huge event. An army of volunteers helps make the race happen, involved in everything from setting up the course to numerous activities on race day to cleaning up afterwards.

This photo was taken at the turnaround in Hawi, roughly halfway into the 112 mile cycling course. It’s the top of the bike course with it being mostly downhill back to Kailua Kona. Of course, this being cycling, there’s a good chance the wind, which can be fierce here, will be in the cyclists’ faces on the way up and on the way back down.

At this turnaround, volunteers hand out water and food to the competitors. It’s a tricky business making the handoff since the cyclists keep moving and there’s a steady stream of them. In this photo, I like the movement of the volunteer handing off the water as well as the echo of the action in the strong shadows.

Also posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Top.’ See more responses here.

Room at the top

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At the top of wind turbine towers is a small room containing the machinery and electronics for the unit. Once in a while, I’ll see the door open and a couple or three blue bags hanging from a cable. Sometimes I can make out the technician inside, checking things out and performing routine maintenance.

It looks a little cramped in there, but given the trend towards tiny houses, when the turbine’s day is over, the space could probably be rented out for around $800 a month.

Posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Top.’ See more responses here.

Cattle and turbines

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I grew up on a dairy farm so I have a soft spot for cattle (as opposed to some who may have grown up on a dairy farm and have a virulent dislike of cattle).

Sometimes, when I walk by on the dirt road bordering their pasture, the cattle run away. Other times they run towards me. These six lined up and just watched me, which was probably the right response. I’m not that exciting.

Shadow makers

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This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Shadows.’ See more offerings here.

The top photo is a row of colorful playground swings at Kamehameha Park in Kapaau. Below are three cyclists in line, heading out of Hawi during an Ironman World Championship race.

Also posted as a second offering for this week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme of ‘All in a Row.’ (See more responses here.) My first post for this theme is here.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hawi

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It’s Christmas Eve, so what better time for a post about Hawi’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church. These photos were taken on a Wednesday evening and I’m not sure what the activity was inside the church. My goal was to take photos of the exterior without disturbing anyone.

When I got there, I was a bit surprised to see someone sitting on the steps outside the church, but they were absorbed in their phone and didn’t see me. I’d taken a few photos, when I realized that the figure on the steps had got up and was walking up the path to the church. That’s the person in clerical robes standing in the doorway in the lower photo. Shortly afterwards, he entered the church and I didn’t see him again.

While I’m not religious, I always enjoyed visiting churches in my native England and elsewhere. The interiors are usually cool and calm and conducive to reflection, and each church invariably has some feature of note. In this case, I liked the stained glass windows illuminated by the lights within.