August 15, 2005
MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Witherspoon
or Jocelyn Collado
Becker Communications
(808) 533-4165
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMY GREENWELL ETHNOBOTANICAL GARDEN
SEPTEMBER WORKSHOPS FEATURE TAPA-MAKING AND LOMILOMI STICKS
HONOLULU – Bishop Museum’s Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Kona continues its series of monthly workshops with three workshops in September.
On September 9 and 10 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Kumu Wesley Sen will lead a two-day workshop on tapa-making. Sen has studied Hawaiian and Samoan methods of making tapa under Beatrice Krauss and Mary Pritchard, and is known as a dynamic teacher with a wealth of knowledge to share.
The Friday workshop will explore the cultivation of the wauke (paper mulberry) plant and the process of beating it into tapa. In the Saturday session, Sen will demonstrate the making of natural dyes for decorating tapa and participants will have an opportunity to print their own piece of tapa. The fee for the Friday workshop is $20 and free for Bishop Museum members. The Saturday workshop fee, which includes a tapa-dying kit, is $50 or $30 for Bishop Museum members.
On Friday, September 30 from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Auntie Maile Napoleon leads a workshop on lomilomi (massage) sticks. Napoleon is a lomilomi practitioner and woodcrafter. During this class, students will learn how to use the lomilomi sticks on themselves and fashion their own sticks from a variety of native and non-native woods. The workshop fee, which includes supplies, is $25 or $10 for Bishop Museum members.
To register for the workshops, call (808) 323-3318. Participants are encouraged to bring a brown-bag lunch.
This program is supported by Bishop Museum and Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program (NHCAP), which is funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, and by funding from the U.S. Department of Education.The Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden is a Bishop Museum facility, located in South Kona on the Mamalahoa Highway. During the year, more than 9,000 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 members. For more information, call (808) 323-3318.