Deep knowledge … ka ike kuhohonu.

That is the theme Clifford Naeole has selected for the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua’s 24th annual Celebration of the Arts, one of Hawaii’s premier cultural events. Naeole, the Maui hotel’s cultural adviser, has been involved with the planning for the celebration since its inception and has served as its chairman since 1996.

“Ka ike kuhohonu focuses on the teachings that our young people hold onto until the time is right for them to use them,” he said. “It refers to those who are poised to carry the torch into the future. Some of them may not even know they are being groomed for that position of responsibility, but they are budding leaders who are one day going to be the voices, protectors and perpetuators of our culture.”

As always, the Celebration of the Arts program this year is full of activities, events, entertainment and learning opportunities, including four films and four panel discussions. One highlight will be a panel featuring three of the 16 “Maui Mavericks,” the multitalented young leaders that the Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau has picked to help promote Maui in key North American markets such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Vancouver, British Columbia. Running the gamut from a tapa maker and a taro farmer to a fashion designer and master brewer, they are respected artists, executives and entrepreneurs who are committed to preserving Hawaii’s history and culture.

Kainoa Horcajo, cultural ambassador at the Grand Wailea resort, will be leading the panel. “It’s a privilege to be among the Maui Mavericks, who were chosen because of our innovative approach to our craft, business or life’s work,” he said. “Although we come from different backgrounds, we know that deep knowledge cannot be attained through sound bites, social media, Internet surfing or weekend seminars. We reach beyond convenient facts, beyond what is conventionally done, to transform our communities in ways that honor our past and stand the test of time.”

In Horcajo’s view, those accomplishments begin with personal development. “I’m guided by the saying, ‘O ke kahua ma mua, ma hope ke kukulu,’ which means ‘First prepare the site, then build the structure,’” he said. “In understanding our place in this world and where we came from, we can become a foundation from which good thoughts, words and actions can spread.”

Also sure to draw a large audience will be the 60-minute documentary “Voyage: Into the Depths of Kanaloa,” which chronicles 14 Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island teens’ participation in the inaugural Halau Holomoana in 2014. Sponsored by the Kanehunamoku Voyaging Academy (kanehunamoku.org), the yearlong program consists of 180 hours of instruction in sailing, maritime law, first aid and more that culminates in a 10-day open-ocean voyage aboard the Marimed Foundation’s 96-foot, three-masted schooner Makani Olu.

“Traditionally in Hawaiian culture, children would go through rites of passage, especially if they were trying to attain a certain skill,” said Ruben Carrillo, president of Carrillo Digital Inc., who directed, shot and edited the film. “The kids sailed 1,200 miles to the Papahanau- mokuakea Marine National Monument and then to Kahoolawe. They were cut off from their family and friends because they didn’t have access to the Internet or cellphone service. Instead, they had to rely on critical thinking and what they had learned from their teachers.”

Those lessons included traditional navigational techniques such as reading the winds, sky, stars, ocean currents and other elements of nature. “As the film shows, they came to truly understand the meaning of ‘ma ka hana ka ike,’ by doing one learns,” Carrillo said. “They left Oahu as children and returned as young adults with a deeper understanding of themselves, their past and their future.”

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Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.