Here is list of school graduation and the school color. Very useful if you want to color match the lei or the ribbon etc.

Lei Day is May Day in Hawaii.  Full day celebration is happening at Kapiolani Park.  Check out the flyer for more detail event information.  I certainly wouldn’t miss the Lei Contest.  Happy May Day!  Check out photos of some of my favorites.

http://www.honolulu.gov/parks/programs/leiday/program+83rd+lei+day+celebration+pdf.pdf

http://www.honolulu.gov/parks/programs/leiday/

lei book byMarie A. McDonald, Paul R. Weissich

February 23, 2010 Tuesday (9am -11am)
Beyond the Vase Blossom in this floral design and flower-arranging class. Lyon Arboretum, 3860 Manoa Rd. $15 + $25 supply fee. Ph. 988-0456. Source: Honolulu Weekly

February 27, 2010 Wednesday (9:30am-12pm)
Lei Making Workshops Brian Choy, repeat winner sweeping most categories annually at the Lei Day Celebration, shows you some of his tricks of the trade in this demonstration workshop. Limited to 40 people. Call 373-2722 or visit honoluluparks.com Aina Hina Park, 827 West Hind Dr. Source: Honolulu Weekly

It’s jade flower season again. We have some jade lei at the shop. Please call in to confirm availability (732-7668)

When things are scatter, disorder and just a mess.  Simply, it is just unpleasant to see it around. And never mind the thought of giving this mess to someone as a gift.  Or could we?

By putting out just a little thoughts and effort into lining them in an orderly fashion.  It could become something good.  Something that you can definetly give to someone as a gift.   This is not about judging a glass half empty or half full.  This is about putting an effort to fill up a half filled glass until it is fulfilled.  Enjoy, this special crown flower with pikake lei.

Friday 8/21/09 from 4pm-6pm will be our first Happy Flower Hours for the season. Big saving on flowers and gifts. Everything in the store will be 40% off.

Believe it. Single dendrobium orchid lei will be even lower in price than our weekly special price for only $2.99 each. See you at the Happy Flower Hours. Here are the fine prints. While supply last. No rain check please.

Lei giving (or piling is a local tradition for congratulating the graduate after the ceremony. From photo below, we can spot many of our island beloved lei from top to bottom, they are Single Purple Orchid Lei, Black Kukui Nut and White Seashells, Candy lei, Orange and Light Purple Cigar Lei, Purple Orchid Lei, Brown Kukui Nut Lei, Sea Grape Lei, Rainbow color Yarn Lei, Black Kukui Nut Lei, Tuberose with Ilima Lei, Ti Leave Lei, Double Crown Lei, Green Paper Origami Lei, Miale Lei, Blue Ribbon Lei, White Kukui Nut Lei.

Date and Time of Graduation that are nearby. Congratulation.
Mid-Pac 5/23/09, 5pm at School Campus
Sacred Hearts 5/23/09, 5pm at School Campus
Damien 5/24/09, 10am at Kamehameha School
St. Louis 5/24/09, 1pm at NBC Arena
Kamehameha 5/24/09, 7pm at NBC Arena
La Pietra 5/27/09, 6pm at School Campus
Kalani 6/4/09, 6pm at NBC Arena
Kaiser 6/5/09, 5:30pm at School Campus
Maryknoll 6/5/09, 5:30pm at NBC Arena
Iolani 6/6/09, 5pm at School Campus
Kaimuki 6/6/09, 5pm at Waikiki Shell
Punahou 6/6/09, 8pm at NBC Arena
Roosevelt 6/6/09, 6:30 at School Campus
McKinley 6/7/09, 5pm at School Campus

It’s jade lei season again. Check it out at the store. It is out of this world both in color and shape. Some special occasions deserve something different from the ordinary.

Another good combination is the rose and crown flower lei. Pleasant texture. Gentle color combination. Crown and rose are available year round.

Lei making demonstration this coming weekend

CELEBRATION OF HAWAIIAN LEI MAKING
10 a.m. to 3 p.m., March 20 to 22
Academy Art Center at Linekona
1111 Victoria St.
www.honoluluacademy.org 532-8700
Honolulu Advertiser article

Many Waikiki hotels has lesson on lei making and other cultural activities – free to their guests. Check them out. Fun, fun, fun.

Hyatt Regency Waikiki
Lei Making Demonstration
Learn to make your own traditional Hawaiian lei. Our Hawaii family resort offers a Lei Making Demonstration every Friday from noon to 2:45 p.m. on the second floor of the Ewa Tower in back of the ground floor escalator. Visitors can take part in the demonstration and make their own lei as well.

http://waikiki.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/activities/kids/family.jsp

Outrigger Waikiki
Specialty Lei Making
Every Tuesday, 9:30 am -10:00 am
Outrigger Waikiki Lobby
Weave special lei using a technique called Hilo, using ti leaves

http://www.outriggerwaikikihotel.com/events.cfm

Outrigger Reef on the Beach
Arbor Day Celebration (Kumula’au)
(November 6, 2008)
Celebrate Arbor Day and learn about Native Hawaiian plants, with a special focus on the kukui nut tree. Guests are invited to enjoy kukui lei making and a demonstration of la’au lapa’au. Guests can also pick-up a free plant while supplies last. For more information, please call 808-924-6007.

http://outriggerreef-onthebeach.com/local_events/local_events.cfm

Hilton Hawaiian Village

If you’re interested in lei, this is a very good book to start you off with. Lot’s of beautiful photos and great information on traditional lei and the everyday lei. At the end of the book, there is even a brief section on lei making.

The first section of the book inspires us with lei from the May Day Lei Competition 2001. Each lei maker explain their relationship and love with lei. I especially love the beautiful rose lei created by Randy Akau – mixing roes, ferns, bougainvillea, and hinahina, who would thought of that. Well, Randy did.

Next section display lei of old Hawaii. Some of these traditional lei such as the maile, ti, royal ilima and white ginger are still readily available today. But lei of lehua, kaunaoa, and mokihana lei are rare and reserved for the special occassions like the Aloha Parade or May Day.

In the 19th century, immigrant workers bring with them flowering plants from their home countries on their journey over to Hawaii. These new flowers were slowly adapted into use for lei making. Missionaries bought with them the American roses. Chinese bought with them the Pakalana (Chinese violet), and jasmine (Princess Kaiulani name it pikake after her peacocks) and the Portuguese bought us the plumeria. Pua kenikeni, ohai, crown flower, pikake, pakalana, plumeria, bozu are still easily found sold at lei shops. Bougainvillea, Maunaloa, stephnotis and hibiscus are rarer.
Modern era lei comprise of the cigar, firecracker, jade vine flower. But nothing like the dendrobium orchid, imported mostly from Thailand has dominated the commercial market in lei flower. It has replaced the plumeria as the airport greeting lei. More sturdy and comes in green, white and purple. The way to string them are many. Among the many, “Christina” orchid lei is credited to Beth Garguilo.

At the end of the book are instruction on lai making. You can give it a try with a stephanotis, ti or ilima lei. Don’t be afraid to substitute flowers that are available to you from your garden or local flower shop. Try it. Enjoy and have fun.

Each month from our reference library, we will pick a book that we just love and we will let you know about it.