Hōkūleʻa crew welcomed by hundreds at Marina Del Rey : Maui Now

Hōkūleʻa and her crew departed Ventura Tuesday morning and set sail for Marina del Rey where they arrived in the afternoon greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds. 

The canoe was escorted by a flotilla of outrigger canoe paddlers who spread fresh flowers on the water as Hōkūleʻa sailed into the marina, and two fireboats saluted the crew with a festive water show. 

Once the canoe was docked the crew initiated a kāhea (call out) to the tribal hosts, the Kizh Nation Tribal Council, for permission to come onto their lands.

After conducting Hawaiian and tribal landing protocols, the crew disembarked the canoe and walked over to Burton Chace Park for a welcome ceremony hosted by Marina del Rey’s Hawaiian community. 

The program included ceremonial rituals, tributes to Hōkūleʻa and its crew including remarks by Andy Salas chairman of the Kizh Nation Tribal Council (Gabrieleño Band Of Mission Indians) and Kumu Lilinoe Kaio.  Her hula school Hālau ʻo Lilinoe performed in honor of the occasion.

Hōkūleʻa will be in Marina del Rey for five days of engagements including dockside canoe tours, presentations and the Hōkūleʻa Community Festival at Chace Park on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Visit hokulea.com or @hokuleacrew on Instagram and Facebook for the latest schedule of events and upcoming port visits.

The Marina del Rey stop is part of the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s four-year Moananuiākea Voyage, a circumnavigation of the Pacific.

Additional Hōkūleʻa Los Angeles-area public events

Visit hokulea.com and @hokuleacrew on social media for the latest updates on events and the Moananuiākea Voyage

Hōkūleʻa Dockside Canoe Tours, Chace Park Dock 
Come aboard the legendary Hōkūleʻa and meet the crew circumnavigating the Pacific on the Moananuiākea Voyage.  
Thursday, Oct. 26, 1-4 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 27, 1-4 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 28, 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 1-5 p.m.

An Evening With Master Navigator Nainoa Thompson
Loyola Marymount University, Life Sciences Auditorium
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
Event Registration Link (Suggested donation of $10)
Learn about the history of Hōkūleʻa by navigator and storyteller Nainoa Thompson, the first Native Hawaiian in 600 years to practice the ancient Polynesian art of navigation. He will share how the canoe reawakened a culture and language on the verge of extinction.

Hōkūleʻa Crew Talk Story at Patagonia Santa Monica
Friday, Oct. 27, 6:30-8:30 p.m., 1345 3rd Street Prom, Santa Monica
Meet and talk story with Moananuiākea Voyage crew members at this evening presentation. 
RSVP at https://avoyageforearthsm.splashthat.com/.  

Hōkūleʻa Community Festival at Chace Park, Marina Del Rey
A Picnic In the Park
Saturday, Oct. 28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Dockside canoe tours, entertainment, booths, cultural arts and crafts and more