January 6, 2005
MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Witherspoon
or Jocelyn Collado
Becker Communications
(808) 533-4165
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMY GREENWELL ETHNOBOTANICAL GARDEN TO
HOST FIRST ANNUAL HORTI/CULTURAL FESTIVAL IN FEBRUARY
HONOLULU - Bishop Museum’s Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Kona will celebrate the bonds between Native Hawaiian traditions and the plants and insects of the ‘aina (land) at the first annual Grow Hawaiian Horti/Cultural Festival. The event will be held on Saturday, February 26 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The festival will feature gardening clinics, special discussions and demonstrations for green thumb gardeners and novices alike.
Grow Hawaiian Horti/Cultural Festival will begin with a traditional chant blessing performed by students of the Kohala-based charter school, Kanu o ka‘Aina. Throughout the day, guests will cultivate their gardening knowledge through specialized clinics, expert-led discussion groups, talk-story sessions with acclaimed kupuna, and lively storytelling by Bishop Museum educators. There will be presentations by Bishop Museum entomologists on native insects, and visitors can tour the new facility at the Garden for raising Hawaiian insects. In addition, festival-goers will enjoy plant sales, keiki activities such as kapa stamp printing, Hawaiian food, live entertainment by Auntie Minnie Manuel, free giveaways, information booths and much more.
Among the festival’s highlights will be a day-long horticulture clinic during which home gardeners and professionals interested in cultivating native plants will learn from some of the best-known experts in native Hawaiian landscaping. Native plant propagator Kauhane Morton will address propagation and care for rare plants. Bishop Museum Botanist Clyde Imada will help identify plants. Dr. Scot Nelson, a.k.a. “the plant doctor” will be available to examine ailing plants and offer diagnosis and suggested treatments, and Frani Okamoto, a native plant propagator from Leeward College, will offer grafting demonstrations.
As part of the Festival, the Garden will also offer guided tours hosted by Diana Duff of Hawai’i Island Landscape Association; Richard Waller, a landscape architect and pioneer in using native plants; and Barrie Moss of ‘Aikane Nursery.
Admission to the Grow Hawaiian Horti/Cultural Festival is free. Major support for this event comes from two federal grants: the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program and ECHO, an initiative under the Office of Innovation and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education. Education through Cultural & Historical Organizations, also known as ECHO, provides educational enrichment to Native and non-Native children and lifelong learners. This project/program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
The Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden is a part of the Bishop Museum ‘ohana, located in South Kona on the Mamalahoa Highway. During the year, more than 8,000 visitors experience the Garden and explore the plants of traditional Kona. The Garden is a regular stop for school tours, and people of all ages enjoy workshops on traditional Hawaiian arts. Admission is a suggested donation of $4 per person and free for Bishop Museum Association members. For more information, call (808) 323-3318.