The March 4 front page Honolulu Star-Advertiser article “Nonprofit raises concerns over funding plan for Waikiki hula show” spelled out an unfortunate clash between two well-respected private, nonprofit organizations relating to the use of the Waikiki Shell facilities

The set of Hawaiian cultural activities planned by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is collectively defined as “Experience Kilohana.” The controversy is framed by how the trust language of the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society narrowly defines the basic concept of the public benefit that governs park usage.

The preservation society’s trust document is clearly worded that no program or activity shall be allowed to charge a fee to access that program, activity, or section of the park in which the activity will occur. It’s a little puzzling, since the Waikiki Shell (also known as the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell) has historically has been used for ticketed events for several decades.

The kaleidoscopic nature of the puzzle is that the Kilohana Hula Show, a throwback to the old Kodak Hula Show which shut down in 1999, is now underway, and very importantly, is free to the public.

The experience Kilohana Hula Show is an accepted activity because it’s free, highly praised by both locals and visitors and even by the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society. But come May, other programs will be launched that will include ticketed events such as an Experience Kilohana Luau and an evening history of Waikiki show titled Waikiki Dream.

Hawaiian Cultural Authenticity

A significant part of the preservation society’s objection is that the permit terms approved by the City and County of Honolulu, while not a long-term lease and subject to revocation at any time, reserves the Waikiki Shell facilities weekly from Sunday through Thursday.

So, although the authorizing document is a revocable permit and not a long-term lease, the preservation society views the five-day-a-week exclusive use as equating to a lease agreement.

As I understand it, even though ticketed, if the activity was a one-day event, like other entertainment events, it would be OK — at least that’s been the case through the years.

The word Kilohana, in this case, is intended by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement to mean taking a deep dive into presenting authentically validated Hawaiian cultural programming in all its manifestations, rooted in the highest level of Hawaiian storytelling and raising the bar on cultural dignity.

It would be a showcase lens of Hawaiian cultural authenticity that the Native Hawaiian community can proudly stand by.

In the early 1990s, George Kanahele, a well-respected Hawaiian visionary, scholar, and historian, was outspoken in his frustration of how Waikiki had lost its “feeling” as a Hawaiian place which set off a love-hate relationship of Waikiki with the general Hawaiian community.

Kanahele was also frustrated that visitors seeking authentic Hawaiian experiences were being short-changed, so he launched an intense initiative titled Restoring Hawaiianess to Waikiki. Experience Kilohana, although not directly connected to the George Kanahele call for action, seems to be tracking that same frustration.

It would be safe to say that an underlying motivation for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is about the Kanahele call of Restoring Hawaiianess to Waikiki.

The most compelling ambition of Experience Kilohana is the private, nonprofit purpose of its mother ship, CNHA, and the underlying objective of Experience Kilohana to establish a funding base to help support its multiple missions.

The full plate of its community-based services includes rent and mortgage relief, multipurpose loans, financial education and counseling for families and small businesses, a job training Trades Academy, household income support, a marketplace supporting 300 local vendors, and a plethora of other integrated services. It’s mind-boggling.

Unlike the norm of a profit-driven corporate tourism organization, the money from Kilohana does not sail away to the mainland or other off-shore investors. The profits stay in Hawaii to support their matrix of programs that constitute a significant public benefit across the state. This would seem to blur the issue of the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society’s trust mandate about free access to the park and everything that occurs within its boundaries, no exceptions.

It would seem to this writer that there is a higher bar set by the community-based nature of the financial equation that spotlights the term public benefit. The public benefit scope and purpose of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and how the funds are used might be given a little more consideration by the preservation society.

In fact, there may be a pathway to a solution if the preservation society were to end up being one the beneficiaries of Experience Kilohana in support of its own financial challenges.

There is no question that, as the clock ticks leading to the first ticketed event in May, there will be some public pushback by supporters of the preservation society. The ensuing conundrum between the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society will require extraordinary leadership on both sides of the aisle if the matter has any chance of a peaceful resolution.

A daunting aspect of the leadership challenge for both sides will be navigating the ladder of public authority, which includes the Honolulu City Council, Mayor Rick Blangiardi, the Hawaii attorney general and the judicial system leading to the Hawaii Supreme Court. It would be tragic for there to be a winner and loser between two great organizations.