The final event celebrating Hōkūleʻa’s 50th birthday takes place Friday, March 14 at Bishop Museum as part of its Museum After Hours monthly series.
Hōkūleʻa’s 50th Birthday | E Ola Mau (To Live Forever) is set for 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. featuring the opening of the permanent exhibition, “Wayfinders: He Waʻa He Moku, He Moku He Waʻa, We Are One and the Same,” in the lobby of the J. Watumull Planetarium, as well as special programming that includes a live performance by Robert Cazimero at 5:30 p.m. and a keynote presentation by Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO and Pwo Navigator Nainoa Thompson.
“Hōkūleʻa’s 50th birthday marks a half-century of cultural revival, environmental advocacy, and a renewed connection to the earth and ocean. For nearly five decades, Hōkūleʻa has served as a symbol of resilience, revival, cultural pride, environmental stewardship, peace, and hope,” said Brandon Bunag, Ed.D, Bishop Museum vice president of public programs and interim director of education, in a release.
“As we honor Papa Mau Piailug as the father of our modern understanding of traditional wayfinding, we honor Hōkūleʻa as the mother of modern voyaging canoes. This celebration is more than a birthday — it honors the work that forged Hōkūleʻa’s creation and a call to action for the future,” Bunag said.
The evening’s program will also include cultural activities for the family (5:30 to 6:30 p.m.); tours of Hawaiian Hall (6 and 8 p.m.); a panel presentation, “Hōkūleʻa for the Next 50 Years,” on the Gallery Lawn (6 to 7 p.m.); special J. Watumull Planetarium presentations (6:30 and 7:30 p.m.); book reading of “Stars, Ocean and Voyaging Canoe” (6:30 and 8 p.m.); and the keynote presentation by Thompson (7 p.m.).
Food and beverages will also be available for purchase from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Atherton Hālau and Bowman Hālau Waʻa.
The partnership between PVS and Bishop Museum is rooted in the origins of PVS and the rediscovery of traditional wayfinding. Romee Wizza Gaoiran, manager of the Bishop Museum J. Watumull Planetarium, shares:
“Perhaps the most significant event in the history of our planetarium occurred in the late 1970s. A young Nainoa Thompson, fresh from the return sail on Hōkūleʻa from its first voyage to Tahiti, was inspired to learn the knowledge of traditional wayfinding. He had a question about the moon, as he had always assumed it rose from the same position on the horizon every day, but had observed it rising where he didn’t expect it to.
“He contacted the planetarium at Bishop Museum and Will Kyselka invited him to come in. Kyselka could tell Nainoa had more questions but was too respectful to ask for more of his time, so he invited Nainoa to come back. The two spent hundreds of hours in the planetarium together, as Nainoa learned the astronomy he needed to reach his goal of navigating Hōkūleʻa to Tahiti and back without modern instruments. Since that time, the Planetarium has continued to be a training space for Polynesian Voyaging Society/Hōkūleʻa navigators and crews over the decades.
“In 1980, Nainoa Thompson became the first Native Hawaiian in 600 years to navigate to Tahiti from Hawaii and back. In the escort vessel following Hōkūleʻa was Planetarium Lecturer Will Kyselka. His book ‘An Ocean in Mind’ details Nainoa’s journey to that point and tells the story of his first voyage as navigator.”
The exhibition, “Wayfinders: He Waʻa He Moku, He Moku He Waʻa, We Are One and the Same,” celebrates the resurgence of wayfinding across Hawaii and the wider Moananuiākea (vast Pacific Ocean).
Michael Wilson is the exhibit designer for Bishop Museum, who designed the “Wayfinders” exhibition and is a PVS crewmember. “The exhibition offers an immersive experience into the world of wayfinding — an ancient practice of navigating vast oceanic distances using the stars, winds, and waves,” said Wilson.
“Through interactive displays, oral histories, and stunning imagery, visitors will explore the interconnectedness of people, land, and sea, embodying the guiding philosophy: ‘He waʻa he moku, he moku he waʻa — the canoe is an island, and the island is a canoe,’” Wilson said.
Event presale tickets, $10, are available online or $15 at the door and are free for museum members.
