MISSION HOUSES MUSEUM’S JULY FOURTH WEEKEND PA`INA
News Release from www.MissionHouses.org
A unique celebration of the birth of our nation will highlight a day of activities at the Mission Houses Museum on Sunday, July 3. Beginning at 10:30 a.m., the museum will turn back the clock and celebrate the cultural events taking place during the 1800s on a typical Independence Day in Hawai`i.
The July Fourth Weekend Pa`ina event will start with a series of family activities in preparation for a noon procession and 1:30 p.m. picnic.
Museum visitors will have the opportunity to add flags they made to the ones loaned by the Consulate Corps which will decorate the site for the day at the event representing various nations that joined Americans in celebrating the holiday to the decor, help prepare the food for the picnic such as making ice cream, fixing tea, and churning butter, copy the Declaration of Independence with ink and pen, in addition to several other arts and crafts making projects.
Children will be able to compete in keiki "horse" races and help in making the bonnets they can wear during the 12 p.m. procession to the program.
"The museum's staff researched what Independence Day celebrations were like in the 1800s and discovered that instead of this holiday being a celebration specific to America, American residents were joined by other nationals who lived in Honolulu at the time," Mary Ann Lentz , Development Director for the museum said.
"So they hung their colors alongside the Stars and Stripes, they had horse races, boat races, set off fireworks, and of course enjoyed a great meal. A feast featuring traditional toasts and picnic foods," Lentz added.
Activities will last until 3:30 p.m. at various booths on the museum grounds with an hour break for the picnic. The noon program will feature the procession, a blessing by the Kahu, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, the singing of several patriotic songs of the period, and a gun salute for the 13 original states by the Hawai`i Civil War Round Table.
Admission for the program, festivities, and family activities is $15 per family, or $5 per person 6 and above. Admission includes visiting the 1821 Mission House and the 1840 Bedroom Annex, and participating in all activities except the picnic which will be $5 pre-order, or $10 at the door.
The picnic features an old-fashioned setting with historic costumes and the serving of traditional 1800s food including locally grown, organic vegetables/fruits. The dessert will be a specially-made Election Day cake prepared by Cake Works from an 1833 recipe.
"We (the museum) like to do a lot of family-oriented events on the actual property where the missionary families lived," said Lentz. "This event provides a day of fun for any family wanting to experience cultural living of the 1800s. But the museum would not be able to put an event of this magnitude without the support of friends like Cake Works, and Slow Food."
The museum is located at 553 South King Street. Proceeds from the event will help support the museum's education programs. For more information or to make reservations, please call the museum at 447-3914 or visit the web site at www.missionhouses.org.
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Mission Houses Museum, located in Honolulu’s Historic Capitol District, is known worldwide as the place where the Hawaiian written language was developed in collaboration with the ali‘i—the Hawaiian royalty—and the Hawaiian people. The museum preserves the two oldest documented houses in Hawai`i, which were built and used by missionaries in the early 19th century, and the largest collection of Hawaiian language books in the world.
For more information: www.missionhouses.org.