Mokulele Teams up with Platinum Tours So Visitors Can Travel the Road to Hana in Style
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C TM C www.MokuleleAirlines.com A message from Ron Hansen, CEO of Mokulele Airlines What’s Inside? E komo mai! Weaving On behalf of the Mokulele 6 Wonders ‘ohana, let me extend a sincere New Bishop Museum and heartfelt mahalo to all military personnel and their exhibit showcases the families. As an Air Force ancient art of Lau Viet Nam Veteran and retired airline pilot/executive, I have a Hala weaving tremendous amount of respect and admiration for all of those who serve, and have served, this great country of ours. So does everybody else at Mokulele – “The Best Little Airline in the World.” Hana in a Half Day I’m proud to say that I learned a lot more than just how 10 to fly planes during my years in the Air Force. Duty, Mokulele teams up with honor, courage, sacrifice. As everybody in the Armed Platinum Tours so visitors Forces knows, these are the values that shape the men and women in uniform. For me personally, being of service is can travel the Road to something that has stayed with me through the years. It’s Hana in style why I took on the challenge of getting an almost defunct airline off the ground and back into the sky. Like me, everybody at Mokulele is committed to serving Hawaii’s smaller communities. A Half This is something all of us at Mokulele Airlines take great pride in. It goes deeper than just making air travel 14 Century in affordable and convenient. It’s about getting families and friends together for weddings and graduations and Hale‘iwa hundreds of other reasons large and small. It’s about Oahu’s iconic Surf N Sea sharing the beauty of our islands – especially the more Surf Shop celebrates a remote areas. It’s about bringing our passengers close enough to see whales breaching, the waves breaking and landmark anniversary the spectacular vistas from a different perspective. It’s about doing things the bigger guys can’t. Or won’t. That’s why we offer the military a special fare. It’s our way of saying thanks for your service by making it as easy as possible for you and your family to enjoy ours. A Living Sincerely, 20 Language Ron Hansen Hawaiian Language Ron Hansen, President & CEO Immersion Schools help Mokulele Airlines keep Hawaii’s culture and history alive MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM ISSUE 15 I 1 TM CORPORATE President/CEO Mokulele Airlines RON HANSEN Publisher DAVE BERRY Editorial Director THOMAS GAUL Creative Director TOBY THOMPSON Editor-in-Chief KAREN BROST ACCOUNT MANAGERS Corporate Account Managers GAIL GLUSHENKO JOCELYN PALAFOX Business Development Manager JENNY HANSEN TECHNOLOGY Web Development DAN TRUJILLO Editorial Inquiries: [email protected] Advertising Inquiries: [email protected] Island Hopper Magazine Corporate Office 8241 E. Evans, Ste. 102 . Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 Toll Free: 800-439-6955 . 480-393-3013 . Fax: 480-393-3017 Office: OʻAHU Honolulu MOLOKAʻI Barbers Point Hoʻolehua Kalaupapa Kalaeloa JRF Kapalua MAUI Kahului Hana HAWAI I (THE BIG ISLAND)ʻ Waimea-Kohala Kona MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM Springtime Views & Festivals! Aloha, and welcome aboard your Mokulele flight! We invite you to sit back and relax while we fly you over some of Hawaii’s majestic views and hidden treasures. While you’re onboard grab your camera and upload your favorite photos to Mokulele’s Facebook Photo Contest for a chance to win 2 FREE tickets! Please visit Mokulele’s Facebook page for more details. Springtime is in full bloom this April and May and so are the festivities! There are a couple of classic traditions that you won’t want to miss! On the Big Island, we have the 52nd Annual Merrie Monarch Festival which takes place between April 5th and 11th. On April 25th, the 23rd Annual East Maui Taro Festival will take place in Hana. Over on O‘ahu we have the 88th Annual Lei Day Celebration which will take place on May 1st. For those of you looking to sample some of Hawaii’s locally crafted beers you may want to check out the 7th Annual Maui Brewers Festival on May 16th! All of us at Mokulele Airlines would like to thank you for choosing us for your travel needs. We hope you enjoy your flight with us, whether you’re on business, leisure or vacation. Our growth is only made possible with the continued support of our valued passengers who have helped us become Hawaii’s number one Island Hopper! Make your next reservation online at www.mokuleleairlines.com and let us show you Hawaii’s greatest views! 2 I MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM ere’s an interesting trivia question — what could a traditional Polynesian outrigger canoe sail and an iPad case H possibly have in common? The answer is that both of these items have been handcrafted by using the ancient Hawaiian art of ulana (weaving) lau hala. This art form, which has been passed down through many generations, is the focus of a new exhibit called Nani I Ka Hala: Weaving Hawai‘i that is now on display at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. NEW BISHOP MUSEUM EXHIBIT SHOWCASES THE ANCIENT ART OF LAU HALA WEAVING BY KAREN BROST Hawaiian Hall, Bishop Museum To create lau hala items, artisans use carefully prepared leaves from the hala (or Pandanus) tree. “The hala plant is a valued resource in the Pacific because of its flexibility as a material and its scalability to nearly any application, however large or small,” says Marques Marzan, cultural research specialist at Bishop Museum. “Many people today are familiar with lau hala mats and baskets, but in fact, the very sails that first brought people to these islands were made of lau hala.” Today, in modern Hawai‘i, this traditional art form is being carried forward by a thriving group of contemporary lau hala artists. The exhibit contains a variety of lau hala creations, both contemporary and traditional. Prominently displayed at the gallery’s entrance is a full-sized, 16-foot lau hala canoe sail that was collected by anthropologist Dr. Kenneth Emory from the atoll of Kapingamarangi in Micronesia. Visitors to the exhibit can immerse themselves in a number of interactive experiences. After viewing the personal lau hala hat collection of Princess Ke Ali‘i Pauahi, they can visit a virtual hat gallery where they can “try on” a large assortment of lau hala hats to find the one that best fits their personal style. They can even try their Close up of lau hala hat design Coffee picking basket, made by Ed Kaneko. 6 I MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM ISSUE 15 I 7 Plaited strip of lau hala sewn together to form a hat. This braid stule is known as, ‘ie lū, a scalloped edged braid. This hat is part of the Pauahi hat collection, belonging to Bernice Pauahi Bishop herself. Bracelet made with lau hala (hala leaves). Bishop Museum Top left picture: A pe’ahi, fan, done in the traditional chiefly style, made by Marques Marzan. hands at weaving a small lau hala piece to take home or participate in a workshop on how to make a lau hala bracelet. There’s also a multi-dimensional “hala grove” equipped with large touch screens where visitors can watch master lau hala weavers share their stories and demonstrate their weaving skills. The Bishop Museum invites guests to “Come walk through the stories, the beauty and the wisdom of ulana lau hala in Nani I Ka Hala: Weaving Hawai‘i. The exhibit will be open through July 27, 2015. For more information, visit www.bishopmuseum.org. MOKULELE TEAMS UP WITH PLATINUM TOURS SO VISITORS CAN TRAVEL THE ROAD TO HANA IN STYLE BY KAREN BROST The Keanae Peninsula Platinum Tours Sprinter Interior aui’s Road to Hana is legendary for its Tour. Here’s how it works. Travelers depart from their choice of breathtaking coastal views, waterfalls and airports – Kapaula or Kahului – where they can leave their cars. tropical forests as it winds its way along the At the airport, they board a luxurious Mercedez-Benz Sprinter bus that’s equipped with comfortable captain’s chairs and stocked with island’s rugged eastern shore. Drivers need M plenty of chilled beverages, snacks and amenities like sunscreen and to negotiate 617 hairpin turns and 54 narrow bridges beach towels, and off they go! along the 52-mile road (while trying to enjoy the views, The expertly-narrated tour makes several stops along the way. of course). The challenge is that once they’ve stopped in The first stop is for breakfast at Charley’s Restaurant & Saloon in Hana for lunch and to see the sights, they need to make the laid-back beach town of Paia. Among the menu items offered that same drive all over again to get back, which can are Charley’s World-Famous Pancakes which were made famous make for a very long day. by celebrity chef Rachael Ray and have been flipped by none other than Willie Nelson himself. The next stop is the beautiful Ke‘anae peninsula which was formed by a lava flow and still retains the Recognizing the need for an easier, more relaxing way for unspoiled beauty of ancient Hawai‘i. It’s a great spot to take photos travelers to enjoy the journey on the Road to Hana, Mokulele of the spectacular coastline and lush, green taro fields and to stop for teamed up with Platinum Tours of Maui to create the Half Day Hana a treat at Aunty Sandy’s banana bread stand. 10 I MOKULELEAIRLINES.COM ISSUE 15 I 11 Keanae Road Charleys Paia Taro Patch The tour also stops at Pua‘aka‘a State Park for a view of its scenic freshwater ponds and waterfall.