Press Release for the upcoming, 2010 Ipu Cultural Festival:

Ipu Lani, Inc. and Hawai'i Gourd Society present the fourth annual, 2010 Ipu Cultural Festival on January 22, 23, and 24 at the Hale Halewai Pavilion on Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona. The festival runs from 6 PM to 9 PM on Friday and 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. both Sat. and Sunday. The admission is free. There will be ipu artists and practitioners, lau hala and coconut weavers, fish net makers, and many other cultural practitioners demonstrating and selling their art.  "The Festival will celebrate the diverse culture surrounding the ipu, or gourd. Ipu art, basket weaving on ipu, cordage and olona demonstrations, guest Kumu demonstrations and workshops, music, food, ipu instrument classes (ipu heke, ipu ole', uli uli), Hawaiian arts and craft vendors, a silent auction, storytelling, and demonstrations will all be included," said organizers.

Classes in Hawaiian ipu decorating, koko (knotted ipu carrier), along with a variety of  gourd decorating techniques will be offered each day for a fee per workshop.  Entertainment will be fantastic, beginning with the Hana Hou Air Force Band of the Pacific, concert to begin at 6 PM Jan 22nd.  The following two days are filled with :

Saturday, January 23, 2010:
     12 - 1PM:  Sam Kama
     1:15  - 2:15PM:  Keoki Kahumoku
     2:30  - 4PM:   Leabert Lindsay
Sunday, January 24, 2010:
     12 - 2PM:  Don Kaulia and His Slack Key Haumana
      2  - 3PM:  Tani Waipa & Warren Kaneao
      3  - 4PM:  Leon Toomata & Warren Kaneao

Ipu Lani , Inc. a registered 501 (c) 3 organization is the parent non-profit for the Hawai'i Gourd Society, which was established in 2006 to revitalize the Ipu culture in the State of Hawaii. The organizations educate the public through this festival and other learning opportunities by exploring the wide variety of uses, both functional as well as artistic from a modern and historical perspective. The groups also support propagation of the ipu in Hawai'i encouraging different farms to grow, cultivate and propagate the ipu. "We strive to bring back to life the joy of working with the ipu and the beauty of the final ipu art," said founding member Mary Amos. "We search for proper growing spots and make every effort to begin cultivation. By grants and donations we plan to farm ipu throughout the islands," she said.

The 2010 Ipu Cultural Festival is sponsored in part by a grant from the Hawaii Tourism Authority through the County of Hawaii CPEP, Dept. of Parks & Recreation, Elderly Services Program, US Air Force, Ipu Lani, Inc. and CNHA.

Visit www.hawaiigourdsociety.com for class details and schedule of events
or email outtayourgourd@gmail.com for more information

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