Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou - Happy New Year from ʻImiloa!
A message from our Executive Director, Kaʻiu Kimura
Aloha makahiki hou! As we welcome in the new year, I want you to know that ‘Imiloa has been both humbled and buoyed by the continuing support and donations from our loyal members and community. When we closed the center to the public nearly a year ago, no one could foresee how long we would remain closed and what the future of ʻImiloa would look like. Since then, we’ve been working hard to find ways to stay safe, pivot our membership benefits and support the larger community with the following protocols and programs.
Membership Extensions:
At the time of our shut down, we promised that we would be extending general membership expiration dates to compensate for the length of our closure. We have retroactively added a nine-month extension for each of our members which has been automatically entered into our system. Updated membership cards will be available once the center reopens to the public; in the meantime, temporary cards are available for printing by those who create an online membership account through our ʻImiloa website.
Exclusive Members-Only Programming:
We know that nothing can replace the in-person experience of exploring our interactive Exhibit Hall or viewing a dazzling presentation in our Planetarium, but we are excited to be offering special virtual programming for our members. Here’s our recent lineup:
Kāhune Paʿakai: A Dash of Salt was launched as a new series of online curated presentations on topics related to ‘Imiloa content areas, starting with our garden. A virtual segment on ‘ulu (breadfruit), one of Hawaiʿi “canoe plants,'' brought together experts from tropical science and even a Pwo navigator to talk about uses for the plant in our diet today. And complimentary ‘ulu preparations were available for participating members to pick up!
A Thanksgiving-themed Zoom segment on ‘uala (sweet potato) featured a live cooking lesson with a chef from Hawaiʿi Community College’s Culinary Arts Program, who guided viewers through the preparation of a delicious ‘uala tapioca dessert. Complimentary ‘uala slips were made available for pick up so members could plant their own sweet potato at home with a guided planting tutorial video from our Native garden education associate.
Our ʻImiloa store is now online! Although our hale is closed to the public, we’ve created and begun to sell ʻImiloa store products online via our website portal. We invite you to explore the interactive science and locally owned products from our store. For those who are members, be sure to create and login to your online membership account to access your membership discount!
A new virtual shopping opportunity—Kūʿai Hele Kalikimaka--rolled out for early Christmas shopping. In addition to the online store, we hosted individual appointments to virtually shop our store. Each participant had the exclusive attention of an ‘Imiloa associate to virtually walk them through all the store merchandise and prep orders for safe pickup or delivery. Members who participated also received a special 15% discount on purchases!
Our ever-popular members-only holiday party went virtual this year! Mahalo nui to our corporate member, Big Island Candies, for partnering to provide a complimentary box of cookies for each membership registered for the event. We were so excited to host our members over Zoom for an intimate evening of crafts, festive and educational presentations, and local music.
We hope that you will consider joining us for an event this year - whether it be an educational workshop, a panel discussion or presentation, our upcoming 15th birthday celebration or a shopping experience - we look forward to welcoming you virtually this year until we are able to physically host you here again at ʻImiloa.
Reopening Plans:
As many of you know, ‘Imiloa partially reopened in July 2020 under strict safety protocols for the exclusive operation of Hālau Lamakū, the new academic and social enrichment program we designed specifically for elementary schoolchildren. The program continued throughout the fall semester, providing signature ‘Imiloa curriculum, while addressing the needs of local families whose keiki’s education has been so negatively disrupted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps you or someone you know were among the grateful families for whom this program has been such a lifesaver.
As we continue to navigate the new year, we’ve decided to continue to offer Hālau Lamakū to assist families for the time being while blended learning is introduced in certain schools, and as we wait for vaccinations to become widely available. For health and safety reasons, we are unable to accommodate other visitors on site while Hālau Lamakū is in session, but as soon as it is safe to do so, we hope to announce a phased public reopening later in 2021. As always, our members will be given first priority access! If you are not a member, we invite you to join our ʻImiloa ʻohana today to get first access and discounted rates to our upcoming programs this year.
Me ke aloha naʻauao,
Kaʻiu Kimura