Daifukuji offers tour
The Daifukuji Buddhist Temple in Honalo is offering a free tour at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Rev. Jiko Nakade and Clear Englebert will lead the 90-minute tour. The history and meaning of the objects in and around the temple will be explained, as well as the architectural features of the building.
Daifukuji is located next to Teshima’s Restaurant. Established in 1914, it will celebrate its centennial next year. The main hall was completed in 1921 and expanded in 1936. It is a traditional Japanese style with Western elements such as the fan-shaped arches over some of the windows. It also features the recent addition of an orchid garden and lotus pond donated by the Kona Daifukuji Orchid Club.
For more information, call 322-3524 or visit daifukuji.org.
Free entry to national parks on Sunday
The National Park Service turns 97 on Sunday. To celebrate Founder’s Day, entrance is free to all 401 national parks in America, including Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park.
With more than 150 miles of hiking trails, and 520 square miles that stretch from sea level to the 13,677-foot summit of Mauna Loa, the opportunity to enjoy Hawaii’s natural splendor abounds in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
A schedule of free ranger-led programs and guided hikes is posted by 9:30 a.m. daily outside Kilauea Visitor Center. Visitors can enjoy programs including Explore the Summit, a one-hour walk from the Kilauea Visitor Center to the edge of Kilauea caldera, and Life on the Edge, a 20-minute talk about the current eruption from Halemaumau Crater given daily at Jaggar Museum overlook.
The park also has scheduled additional free-entry days on Sept. 28, National Public Lands Day, and Nov. 9 to 11, Veterans Day Weekend.
Volcano Art Center honors National Park Service birthday
In celebration of the National Park Service’s 97th anniversary, Volcano Art Center on Sunday will offer an additional 5 percent off purchases of more than $97 at the center’s gallery.
The gallery is located next to the park’s Kilauea Visitor Center. It is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
For more information, visit volcanoartcenter.org or call the gallery at 967-7565 or email the gallery at gallery@volcanoartcenter.org.
Puuhonua park plans Sunday ipu event
In celebration of the National Park Service’s 97th anniversary Sunday, Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park offers visitors a chance to finish and take home an ipu — limit one per family. Ipu, gourds, were used in many ways, including as bowls, bottles, musical implements and canoe bailers. They were also used for food and medicine. Hawaiians wove koko, carrying nets, for their gourds.
Decorating styles included the pawehe technique, where a green gourd is carved, then buried in black mud to stain the uncarved skin, resulting in a beautiful contrast. Other techniques included laha, painting, and wela paa, woodburning.
Admission is free Sunday, when the park is open from 7 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. The visitor center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
