Once in a generation or lifetime.

That’s how many people at Magic Island on Saturday described the welcoming return ceremony for Hawaiian voyaging canoe Hokule‘a after its three-year worldwide sailing tour.

Tens of thousands of spectators walked, biked, and rode buses and shuttles to the park to witness the event which included a procession of eight Polynesian sailing canoes entering the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, a concert, stories from master navigator Nainoa Thompson, and a re- creation of an ancient Hawaiian welcoming rite for arriving voyaging canoes that involved a spear-dodging challenge.

“This is my generation to witness something my ancestors have been doing for generations,” said Alika Hussey, who traveled from Makaha to see Hokule‘a after its 40,300-mile journey to 23 countries and territories. “It is really special for me and our people.”

The scene at Magic Island was a sea of people who densely lined the harbor’s Ewa edge and spread throughout the rest of the park with beach chairs, mats, folding tables, pop-up tents, coolers, wagons and umbrellas.

Hundreds more were on the water in outrigger canoes, paddleboards, surfboards and boats to cheer on Hokule‘a’s incoming crew and crews on the other seven canoes, or wa‘a, from Kauai, Maui, Hawaii island, Oahu, Tahiti and New Zealand.

Kaleihau Kamau‘u arrived at about 3 a.m. to stake out a prime viewing spot, near a floating dock where Hokule‘a would tie up upon arrival, on behalf of more than 100 people who rode in on two buses from Papakolea.

“We are all community members who take deep pride in our culture,” he said.

Troy Hewlen, also with the Papakolea Homestead Association, was 10 years old when Hokule‘a left for its first trip to Tahiti in 1976. On Saturday, he wanted to share the canoe’s homecoming with his daughter, two grandchildren and others. “We all wanted to be part of the celebration,” he said. “This is a historic event. It’s my grandkids’ turn.”

At 7 a.m., Hawaii’s youngest voyaging canoe, Namahoe, was the first to pass through the channel to sounds of blowing conch shells, cheering and clapping.

“Wave, wave — it’s our ohana,” Ke‘ala Lopez told a friend’s 5-year-old son.

Lopez, a Namahoe crew member, said the canoe built last year made a 13-hour trip from Kauai that was its maiden voyage away from the island.

“It’s a big deal leaving Kauai for the first time and doing a major sail,” she said. “To just get to this point is awesome.”

Brent Hoe from Hakipuu near Kualoa blew conch shells welcoming Namahoe. His brother Blayne blew a similar-sounding instrument made from a hollow, horn-shaped seaweed brought from South Africa by their father and Hokule‘a crewman Kealoha Hoe, who was aboard the canoe for the leg to that country in late 2015.

“This is very humbling, especially seeing her go (three years ago) and now welcoming her back,” Blayne Hoe said.

Nainoa Reyes sailed a four-man, double-outrigger canoe into the harbor Friday night with four friends, catching the Hilton Hawaiian Village fireworks show and then Hokule‘a’s return after a night’s sleep near the water’s edge.

Reyes, who has crewed a few different wa‘a with the Polynesian Voyaging Society, said he wanted the small wooden canoe, Keaolewa O Kalihi, to greet the bigger vessels. “These canoes are alive,” he said. “They are not just fiberglass. They are not just wood. They are not just boats. They are living creatures. They need to greet each other. What an amazing experience.”

After seven greetings — Namahoe, Mo‘okiha o Pi‘ilani (from Maui), Makali‘i (from Hawaii island), Hawai‘iloa (from Oahu), Okeanos Marshall Islands (from New Zealand), Fa‘afaite (from Tahiti) and Hikianalia (from Oahu) — Hokule‘a pulled into the channel at about 9:40 a.m.

In a little sandy cove at the makai end of the harbor, Hussey, a musician, led a crowd in the “Aue Ua Hiti E” call-and-response chant, or oli, for arriving canoes. Hussey, along with many in a surrounding crowd, continually sang the 10-line oli amid whistling, cheering, whooping and blasting conch shells.

Georgiana Navarro, who teaches about Hawaiian canoes at a Waianae drug treatment program, said she was in awe seeing Hokule‘a come in. “You cannot get any more Hawaiian than this,” she said. “I tell you, my heart stopped beating.”

After Hokule‘a docked, volunteers from a variety of Hawaiian cultural organizations re-created a rite in which a group armed with long spears, shark-tooth daggers and other weapons warily and aggressively assessed the chief or leader of an arriving canoe to learn the party’s intentions and disposition.

This rite, ko kali‘i lima, involved hurling spears at the leader after he accepted the challenge that demonstrates his courage, followed by embraces between both parties.

Jessica Dos Santos from Kahuku said seeing the ritual was part of what she dubbed a once-in-a-lifetime event.

“I think it’s extremely important to perpetuate these types of ceremonies, and to just appreciate the beautiful culture that we have,” she said. “I felt very lucky to be part of this.”

Around 1 p.m. before a concert kicked off with about a dozen performers scheduled to sing until 5:30 p.m., musician Kenneth Makuakane sang “Hawaii’s Pride” — a song about Hokule‘a written by waterman Eddie Aikau, who was sailing on the canoe during a trip in 1978 and died trying to paddle his surfboard to a too-distant shore after Hokule‘a capsized far off Oahu.

“He sang it about three days prior to swimming into forever on March 17, 1978,” Makuakane said as he started singing “Eddie’s song” with the audience at Magic Island. “Hawaii’s pride, she sails with the wind. And proud are we to see her sail free. Feelings, deep and so strong. For Hoku, Hokule‘a.”

Solomon Aikau, Eddie’s brother, said choosing that song to perform at Saturday’s event was special and one of several chicken-skin moments he had throughout the day. “Once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,” he said.

Click here for more coverage on Hokuleʻa’s journey.