KAILUA-KONA — Food, art, music, and dance filled the Makaeo Event Pavilion Saturday as hundreds gathered for the 38th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Kona Community Celebration.
A complimentary luncheon combined with art and poetry displays from West Hawaii schools kicked off the event, leading into a celebration program full of entertainment and remembrance for the great civil rights leader.
“Being from Georgia, we would hear him (Dr. King) on the radio all the time, always speaking of nonviolence and wanting everyone to get together,” said Kathy Simmons, emcee and chairperson for the MLK Kona Community Celebration Committee. “Watching the nightly news with Walter Cronkite and seeing all of the people who were being sprayed with water hoses — it was very frightening.”
“To be living at that time is the reason why I want to commit my life to sharing and letting his word get out to all of the younger people who know nothing at all about Dr. King’s dream,” she added.
In 1982, the late Frank Bramlett, accompanied by his wife Mamie, and Virginia Halliday, established the first Kona community celebration for Dr. King’s birthday, where 15 people gathered on a beach at the Old Kona Airport Park. Mr. Bramlett desired to keep Dr. King’s dream alive and maintain public attention on the contribution Dr. King made to humanity through his nonviolent, peaceful campaign for equality and justice for everyone — regardless of race, creed, religion or color.
The following year, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill declaring the third Monday in January a national holiday honoring Dr. King’s birthday, Jan. 15. The holiday was first observed in 1986.
At this year’s celebration, not only did the community come together, but so did the music.
Opera singer D’Andrea Pelletier was among the many performers at the celebration. She sang a solo of Aretha Franklin’s “Precious Lord.”
“To be able to sing Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite gospel song was very awesome, so it was a great experience,” said Pelletier.
Other performers included the West Hawaii County Band, the Kona Choral Society adult and youth chorus, the Big Island Marshallese Community Association Chorus, University of the Nations and the Konawaena High School drama students.
Closing out the program was The MLK Interfaith Community Choir and SKEA Ukulele Kanikapila performing an influential rendition of Bob Dylan’s, “The Times They Are A Changin’.”
“I think everybody needs a message of hope right now and the fact that things are kind of dark right now in our country, but we have to hold onto the hope that things are going to get better,” said Barbara Hoist, MLK Interfaith Community Choir organizer. “If you look at the lyrics of the song… that’s what it’s all about.”
With a diverse turnout from the Kona community in attendance, Simmons hopes the celebration will continue to expand.
“In the future, I see it getting bigger and better with more bright young minds,” she said. “We don’t want it to just stop here with the old people, or the elderly, or the kupuna; we want the keiki to come along and keep Dr. King’s legacy alive.”
The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration is organized by the MLK Kona Community Celebration Committee, volunteers and various donors. The next Kona community celebration will be on Jan. 19, 2020.