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     Spend a weekend planting a lei garden with Leilehua Yuen in the historic plantation community of Pāhala at the Pāhala Plantation House. Learn about Hawaiian traditions of lei making, and how to design a lei garden. Students will explore the art of the lei through chant, song, and story, learn basic crafting techniques, protocols, and how to design a simple lei garden. Hands-on work is included. Day students are welcome. Out of town students may wish to stay at the Pahala Plantation House or in a nearby rental. Contact Pāhala Plantation House to arrange accommodations.
     For more information on the workshop, phone Leilehua at 935-1722.

Friday, March 30 - Special Early Registration Event
                                4:00-6:00pm - Pre-Registration

                                6:00 - Talking Story with Leilehua
                                          Join Leilehua Yuen and her husband Manu Josiah in a fireside chat and music session of mo`olelo o nā lei - stories of the lei. Yuen, a master storyteller, studied the art with esteemed kupuna Aunty Nona Beamer. In this special event for early registration students, the couple will tell stories of our island lei through song, chant, and storytelling in an informal session beside the fireplace in the parlor of the Pāhala Plantation House. Ends with evening prayer.

Saturday, March 31 - Day 1 of Workshop
                                6:00 Dawn Prayer and chant for pre-registered students. Please go to the Dawn Prayer page for more information.

         Registration

                                8:00-9:00 Registration
         Session I

                                9:00 Garden lay-out and design session
                                          Do plants cringe when you come near? Do you even kill silk flowers? Try this workshop which simplifies gardening for lei. Learn how to select appropriate plants which will thrive in your location. Includes an introduction to container gardening for lei.

                                12:00 lunch break
           Session II

                                1:00 Garden practicum
                                          Get down and dirty and actually help to build a simple lei garden.

                                5:00 Supper Break
           Session III

                                6:00 Mo`olelo o na Lei - chants, songs, stories illustrating lei and lei protocol. Ends with evening prayer.

Sunday, April 1 - Day 2 of Workshop
           Session IV
                                6:00 dawn prayer and chant - harvesting session
                                           Learn protocols and harvesting techniques as we explore the wonderful garden of the Pāhala Plantation House.

                                8:00 Breakfast break
             Session V

                                9:00 lei making
                                            Learn simple traditional techniques using native and natural materials for making lei.

                                12:00 lunch break
             Session VI

                                1:00 lei making
                                            Complete your lei so you may wear it at the afternoon concert.
               Free Concert

                                3:00 - 4:00 Concert
                                          Closing event for Mo`olelo o nā Lei workshop. Join Leilehua Yuen and her husband Manu Josiah for an intimate afternoon concert of mo`olelo o nā lei - songs and stories of the lei. Both reared in the Hawaiian traditions of music and storytelling, Leilehua and Manu bring the stories of their parents and grandparents to life as they play off of each other in a harmonious life duet.
                                         Also featured will be the Maile Sisters, a set of ki`i hula (hula puppets) created by Leilehua. Leilehua first learned about the art of hula ki`i in the early 1990s from Mauliola Cook. Cook, a protégé of Aunty Nona Beamer, helped the esteemed kupuna to revive the almost-lost art. Leilehua was so intrigued that she continued to study and research the hula ki`i, eventually co-founding with Aunty Nona and others Hawai`iana o Honomū, which evolved into a traveling puppet troupe specializing in Hawaiian storytelling.



Things to Bring

                             Attire: Gardening attire for most classes. Jacket. It can get chilly in Pāhala.
                                            (Students may wish to bring something a little dressier for story-telling session and concert)
                                Tools: Gardening tools such as clippers, spades, rakes, gloves
                                           Lei making tools such as scissors, sewing needles, lei needles
                                Other: Two towels or a towel and a mat

Cost - Payable through the Pahala Plantation Cottages
                                $75 Full Workshop
                                $30 Per Session


Accommodations
                                Accommodations are paid separately and booked through the Pāhala Plantation Cottages.

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Workshops on Hawaiian Lei Planting a Lei Garden March 30 - April 1
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Spend a weekend planting a lei garden with Leilehua Yuen in the historic plantation community of Pāhala at the Pāhala Plantation House. Learn about Hawaiian traditions of lei making, and how to design a lei garden. Students will explore the art of the lei through chant, song, and story, learn basic crafting techniques, protocols, and how to design a simple lei garden. Hands-on work is included. Day students are welcome. Out of town students may wish to stay at the Pahala Plantation House or in a nearby rental. Contact Pāhala Plantation House to arrange accommodations. For more information on the workshop, phone Leilehua at 935-1722. Friday, March 30 - Special Early Registration Event 4:00-6:00pm - Pre-Registration 6:00 - Talking Story with Leilehua Join Leilehua Yuen and her husband Manu Josiah in a fireside chat and music session of mo`olelo o nā lei - stories of the lei. Yuen, a master storyteller, studied the art with esteemed kupuna Aunty Nona Beamer. In this special event for early registration students, the couple will tell stories of our island lei through song, chant, and storytelling in an informal session beside the fireplace in the parlor of the Pāhala Plantation House. Ends with evening prayer. Saturday, March 31 - Day 1 of Workshop 6:00 Dawn Prayer and chant for pre-registered students. Please go to the Dawn Prayer page for more information. Registration 8:00-9:00 Registration Session I 9:00 Garden lay-out and design session Do plants cringe when you come near? Do you even kill silk flowers? Try this workshop which simplifies gardening for lei. Learn how to select appropriate plants which will thrive in your location. Includes an introduction to container gardening for lei. 12:00 lunch break Session II 1:00 Garden practicum Get down and dirty and actually help to build a simple lei garden. 5:00 Supper Break Session III 6:00 Mo`olelo o na Lei - chants, songs, stories illustrating lei and lei protocol. Ends with evening prayer. Sunday, April 1 - Day 2 of Workshop Session IV 6:00 dawn prayer and chant - harvesting session Learn protocols and harvesting techniques as we explore the wonderful garden of the Pāhala Plantation House. 8:00 Breakfast break Session V 9:00 lei making Learn simple traditional techniques using native and natural materials for making lei. 12:00 lunch break Session VI 1:00 lei making Complete your lei so you may wear it at the afternoon concert. Free Concert 3:00 - 4:00 Concert Closing event for Mo`olelo o nā Lei workshop. Join Leilehua Yuen and her husband Manu Josiah for an intimate afternoon concert of mo`olelo o nā lei - songs and stories of the lei. Both reared in the Hawaiian traditions of music and storytelling, Leilehua and Manu bring the stories of their parents and grandparents to life as they play off of each other in a harmonious life duet. Also featured will be the Maile Sisters, a set of ki`i hula (hula puppets) created by Leilehua. Leilehua first learned about the art of hula ki`i in the early 1990s from Mauliola Cook. Cook, a protégé of Aunty Nona Beamer, helped the esteemed kupuna to revive the almost-lost art. Leilehua was so intrigued that she continued to study and research the hula ki`i, eventually co-founding with Aunty Nona and others Hawai`iana o Honomū, which evolved into a traveling puppet troupe specializing in Hawaiian storytelling. Things to Bring Attire: Gardening attire for most classes. Jacket. It can get chilly in Pāhala. (Students may wish to bring something a little dressier for story-telling session and concert) Tools: Gardening tools such as clippers, spades, rakes, gloves Lei making tools such as scissors, sewing needles, lei needles Other: Two towels or a towel and a mat Cost - Payable through the Pahala Plantation Cottages $75 Full Workshop $30 Per Session Accommodations Accommodations are paid separately and booked through the Pāhala Plantation Cottages.
Leilehua and her grandmother making lei puamelie	Kumu Leilehua Yuen learned to make lei from her grandmother, Thelma Yuen. Though born in St. Louis, Nana Thelma quickly adopted the culture of her Hawaiian-Chinese husband and reared Leilehua on fish and poi, and the beauty of her island home. Leilehua learned many traditional crafts from her grandparents - useful things from how to make a rope from ti leaves when she let her father's prized thoroughbred racehorse escape his paddock, to making school glue from poi, to repairing the family's lau hala goods, to weaving coconut fronds into cradles for her dolls or carriers for fresh flowers, to crafting beautiful lei from whatever was at hand.
No celebration is complete without lei - and the more the better! Kumu Leilehua and Manu at their wedding shower wearing the expressions of aloha crafted by their friends. The `a`ali`i lei po`o worn by Leilehua has been preserved and remains, dried on one of her favorite hats.		Lei kupukupu crafted and worn by haumana Pi`ikea. Kupukupu, the unfurling ferns, symbolize the unfurling of aloha

Wearing lei hulu manu		Hālau Hula na Mohala Hāla`i bedecked in lei lehua for Lei Day, 2006
Lei workshop conducted by Leilehua in 1996 at Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park		Lei Hulu Manu crafted by haumana Michele Gamble for the occasion of the wedding of Kumu Leilehua and her husband, Manu. These special lei have their own personal names and are as cherished by their owners necklaces of diamonds are cherished by people of other nations. The mo`olelo, the story, of each lei is in the box lid.
Dancing in lei `iwa`iwa and maile. Hula dancers are compared to the graceful `iwa birds, thus the `iwa`iwa fern is one emblem of the hula dancer. The fragrant maile is sacred to Laka, patroness of hula.		`A`ali`i, ferns, and other materials used in the crafting of lei. `A`ali`i is able to grow and bloom under adverse conditions, so it is emblematic of strength and fortitude.
Haumana Kahalelaukoa wearing a beautiful lei po`o of various flowers and lei a`i maile.		Leilehua's Dad's horse, Julie wearing lei of maile and mokihana for the Merrie Monarch Festival parade. Late 60s or early 70s.




One writer's take on Lei Day: http://members.cox.net/starview/leiday.html Department of Parks and Recreation: http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/parks/programs/leiday/history.htm
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Ka`ahele Hawai`i is an electronic magazine of Hawai`i Island. We hope to provide material of interest and usefulness to readers both on and off Ka Moku Hawai`i. It is currently under development as the first website designed and managed by Yuen Media Services. We would like to invite YOU, the reader, to participate in the development of this site. Please let us know of any suggestions you may have to make this site more useful and enjoyable. Mahalo, Leilehua Yuen.