Maui--more New Year's Eve (December 31, 2025)

 

Papa and I visited the Kepaniwai Park & Heritage Gardens near the 'Iao Valley to learn more about the Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Puerto Rican, New England, and African-American immigrants who worked shaped Maui's culture. Above is a Hawaiian thatched-roof hut, called a hale (HAH-lay).

'Iao Stream runs next the park with a sign that advises swimming at your own risk.

The park features Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Portuguese structures, as well as a New England saltbox house.

The Chinese exhibit features a "cooling gazebo" like those that used to dot China's rural countryside so that farmers could rest in the shade and catch up with neighbors. The statues are of Sun Yat-Sen, who lived in Honolulu from 1879-1883, age 12-16. He returned to China and is credited with overthrowing the imperial dynasty in 1911. He is honored in Taiwan as the "Father of the Nation" and in China as "The Forerunner of the Revolution."

Papa and a Banyan tree in the park. The tree's branches drop roots that become additional trunks.