This is Kohala

Kupuna May Spencer Napoleon is interviewed for the Kohala Oral History Project in July 2022. Her oral history is included in the documentary film, “This is Kohala.” Photo credit: Jocelyn Manuel

Evening Presentation:

“This is Kohala” is the culmination of a year-long initiative (2021-2022) by the Kohala Oral History Project to capture the community’s stories through a period of upheaval: the closure of the Kohala Sugar Company in 1975.  This documentary film artfully combines archival materials and interviews to weave a rich tapestry of stories recording the everyday highs and lows of the community during Hawaiʻi’s sugar plantation era.  The film explores how oral history becomes a vessel for transformative change, creating a map of collective memory and identity and preserving the past, while embracing the future.  Co-producers Jocelyn Manuel (Executive Director of the Kohala Oral History Project) and Bryan Campbell (documentary filmmaker and Hawaiʻi Community College lecturer in Creative Media) present this remarkable, cumulative memoir on two occasions: Monday evening, July 1, and the following afternoon, Tuesday, July 2.

Admission to these wonderful programs is free to Museum members, and $3.00 for nonmembers.  Please support the Museum by becoming a member, and enjoy all Saigo Series programs, all year round, at no charge!

Seating is limited; first come, first seated.

ON MONDAY EVENINGS ONLY, additional parking is available next door at Hilo Union School,

Kapiolani Street entrance; park, then walk through our green gate in the rock wall.

On Monday evenings, doors open at 6:30PM.  E komo mai!

Lyman Museum ~ 276 Haili St ~ Hilo, Hawai‘i ~ (808) 935-5021 www.lymanmuseum.org ~ www.facebook.com/lymanmuseum The nationally accredited and Smithsonian-affiliated Lyman Museum showcases the natural and cultural history of Hawai‘i to tell the story of its islands and its people.