A KANILE`A 20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
October 12, 2018 | It was a night of a thousand strums as Kanile`a artists, family, friends and fans gathered to celebrate our 20th anniversary with us at the historic Hawai`i Theatre on September 9, 2018. Even a month later, we are still humming the songs we heard, marveling at the dances we saw and reminiscing the memories that were made. The evening was the culmination of months and months of planning for both an event AND a CD release.
Every single performer brought their A game to the stage and it was chicken skin all night long! And in between the groups, the audience got to meet (through video) the unsung heroes of Kanile`a – the Kanile`a Krew – these talented craftsmen and women who create the world-class instruments that our Kanile`a artists proudly play.
One of a kind Kanile`a instruments marking the 20th anniversary and engraved with the name of a song from the Ola Ka `Āina CD were gifted to the composers of the 13 original songs that make up the project. (All proceeds go to reforestation efforts in Hawai`i through Saving Hawai`i’s Forests, a 501(c)(3) no-profit organization dedicated to the revitalization and protection of Hawai`i’s native forests.)
We just received the video of the entire event so we’ll be sharing some of those video clips in the near future.
Mahalo a nui to all who participated in making this event such a memorable one!!!
To Kalena Ku of Kapena who coordinated not just the concert but the creation of the Ola Ka `Āina CD project, we thank you and love you. We could not have done this without you!!!
To all of our Kanile`a `ohana – artists and players – we love that YOU love the `ukulele as much as we do!! Mahalo for representing us to the world…never, ever stop.
To our incomparable Kanile`a Krew, words cannot describe how important you are in creating masterpieces that families will pass on for generations. Your meticulous work, your keen eye for detail along with the love and care you put into every `ukulele can be felt with ever strum. Mahalo for being a part of the Kanile`a legacy.
We look forward to another 20 years and beyond of making Hawaiian handcrafted `ukulele and sharing our music and our passion with the world.
