Hundreds come out for fundraiser

Saturday was a time of games, food, music and hula as hundreds came out to enjoy the Kilohana School’s yearly fundraiser, the Kilohana School Spring Bazaar.

Held on the school’s grounds, visitors enjoyed Lau Lau plates and shave ice while checking out the various games and crafts that were available. Many simply stayed in the shade and soaked in the tunes provided by a plethora of local musicians such as Kaleo Pilanka, Eddie Tanaka and Rick Schonely, while hoping for their raffle ticket number to be announced.

“This is about the crowd we get every year; 350 to 400, 500 people,” said Margaret Makekau, chairman for the bazaar and President of the Kilohana School Community Organization. “This is the one event that we have, a fundraiser for the school.

For Halloween contests, Christmas program packages and fieldtrip excursions, bus fares, and a bunch of other activities for the kids at the school.”

Perhaps the climax of the event came as students of the Halau Hula O Kilohana took to the stage, or yard of grass, as the case may be.

“This year is just working out so good,” said April Kealoha, who organized the entertainment and is the teacher of the Halau Hula. “I had some [students] who didn’t come up, but that’s fine …

“I taught here from 1984 — I’ve been doing it that long — and I always [do it] for no charge,” added Kealoha, who had three groups of young girls perform.