Kaumakapili Church welcomes all to its yearly luau fundraiser

Preparations have been underway for days for Saturday’s annual luau and fundraiser at Kaumakapili Church in Kalihi-Palama. Dozens of volunteers from Kaumakapili, other churches and the broader community pitch in to make the event a success.

A key toward that success is a recipe for haupia (a coconut milk-based dessert) that has been used all 46 years of the luau, said coordinator Christina Rudolph. “It’s really special to us as a church,” she said.

“A few of us are fourth-generation” members of the church family, as are her two daughters, she said, while many others are third- and second-generation.

A great luau, of course, is not just about haupia alone. Other foods to be served are just what you would hope to eat: kalua pork, poi, poke, lomi salmon, chicken long rice, fresh pineapple, sweet potato, a piece of cake and, to wash it down, a can of juice.

The serving line starts up at 5 p.m. for an all-you-can-eat sit-down meal ($30). Diners can choose from all the dishes named above, as well as all-you-can-watch-and-hear entertainment by Kimo Keaulana. The keiki in Hula Halau o Ulumahiehie O‘eo Kalani, led by kumu hula Kalani Apana, will also perform.

If you have plans already for Saturday evening but still want a delicious luau, $20 grab-and-go boxes can be ordered in advance, and picked up between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the church parking lot.

Rudolph said the takeout box contains at least a half-pound of kalua pork.

It is said that many hands make light work, but the luau is nevertheless a huge undertaking. “It takes a village, it really does,” Rudolph said.

In the early days of the event, everything was done right at the church. “The church would erect a huge tent in the front lawn, and we would have to erect our own kitchen in the back,” Rudolph said. “The imu was done on-site, or across the street when somebody (connected to the church) lived there,” she said.

The church now has indoor kitchen facilities, and for many years, going back as long as Rudolph can remember, the church has used an imu on Kamehameha Schools grounds.

Funds raised support the church’s food bank and free store programs, “and it really supports our church service as well,” Rudolph said. Advance tickets are being sold by the church office, open from 8 a.m. to noon Friday.