ʻŌiwi Festival

Kualapuʻu School hosts two major annual Hawaiian cultural festivals that are open to the entire Molokaʻi community, serving as living classrooms for cultural learning, celebration, and excellence. One of these signature events, the Hawaiian Arts Festival, He lei kau, he lei hoʻoilo, is a performance-based cultural exhibition that elevates and perpetuates Hawaiian arts and crafts (hana noʻeau) as essential forms of education, assessment, and ʻike transmission.

Through student performances, hands-on demonstrations, and engagement with cultural practitioners, the festival honors Hawaiian creative expression across all seasons—symbolizing students as the lei who are nurtured, adorned, and celebrated for their growth and achievements. He lei kau, he lei hoʻoilo affirms the value of ʻike kupuna within modern educational spaces, strengthens cultural identity, and provides the broader Molokaʻi community with meaningful opportunities to engage in, learn from, and sustain Hawaiian artistic traditions.