Hale Ho‘ike‘ike at the Bailey House keeps a relatively low profile, yet it and the Maui Historical Society, which is headquartered there, are the primary keepers of Maui’s history. Hale Ho‘ike‘ike means “House of Display,” and, true to its name, it hosts special events and exhibits throughout the year.

Here’s what’s happening in 2019:

E Pulama Mau Ia Maui (Cherished are the Treasures of Maui)

This exhibition series usually showcases items from the society’s archive. The two exhibits this year, however, came to fruition through collaborations with other sources.

It took Haiku resident Guillem Avi Molinas 2-1/2 years to complete the 26 oil-on-­canvas portraits of Hawaiian royalty, statesmen and other notable people in the “Na Aloha ‘Aina” exhibit, on view through May 31. “Na Aloha ‘Aina” translates as “Love of the Land”; in this case, it is also a metaphor for the people, both Hawaiians and foreigners, who stood strong in their support of the nation of Hawaii.

Among them are scholar, author, composer and educator Mary Kawena Pukui; businessman Charles Reed Bishop, who founded Bishop & Co., the first chartered bank in the Hawaiian kingdom (now First Hawaiian Bank); and Hawaii’s first and last reigning monarchs, King Kamehameha I and Queen Lili‘uokalani. To choose his subjects, Molinas read books, visited Bishop Museum and checked reliable references on the Internet.

“What played a part in my selection process was the feeling I got when I saw their faces,” he said. “If I was able to make a connection with them, I wanted to learn more about their lives and paint them. All of the people contributed to the perpetuation of the Hawaiian culture, albeit in different ways.

“Whether they fought for control of aina, created legislation to try to empower the Hawaiian people, helped to restore the language and traditional arts, including music and hula, or just showed resolute pride in being Hawaiian, they have amazing, although sometimes heartbreaking, stories to tell.”

From Aug. 24 to Dec. 31, “Na Akua Akea” (The Many Vast Gods) will showcase the work of a year-long, Maui-based weaving cohort guided by Kumula‘au Sing and his wife, May Haunani Balino-Sing, who are master instructors of ulana ie, weaving with the aerial rootlets of the ieie vine.

Nine students committed to the project, which began last August and will culminate this August with the opening of “Na Akua Akea.” The Sings live in Mililani but, thanks to a State Foundation on Culture and the Arts grant, they are flying to Maui once a month to lead two-day workshops for the group at Hale Ho‘ike‘ike. Finished pieces will include fans, baskets, fish traps and kii akua hulu manu, replicas of feathered war god images (the cohort will be weaving the image, not feathering it).

“Ieie is currently the least practiced type of Hawaiian basketry; you’ll see weavers working with coconut fronds, sedge grass and hala and palm leaves much more often,” Sing said. “Haunani and I selected these students because they took our beginning ieie basketry class and are cultural practitioners in hula, Hawaiian implements and Hawaiian language. … Ieie weaving is as relevant today as it was long ago because the plant continues to thrive in our forests and in our hula chants and moolelo (stories).”

Kuamo‘o ‘Olelo O Kama Hula and Oli Festival

This new event kicks off with a drama produced in partnership with Punana Leo O Maui’s school in Wailuku, one of 10 Hawaiian immersion programs under the umbrella of Kula Kaiapuni O Maui.

It will recount in Hawaiian the exploits of ‘Ai‘ai of Hana, son of fish god Ku‘ula, from 1 to 5 p.m. May 5 at Baldwin High School’s auditorium. Performers will share ‘Ai‘ai’s story through hula and oli (chants).

“The title of the presentation is ‘E Ola! E lawe i ke a‘o a malama a e ‘oi mau ka na‘auao,’ which means ‘He who takes his teachings and applies them increases his knowledge,’” said Sissy Lake-Farm, executive director of the Maui Historical Society/Hale Ho‘ike‘ike. “The intent is to tell a story that children can relate to, spotlight a renowned place on Maui and give Kula Kaiapuni O Maui an opportunity to show the great things they are accomplishing through immersion education.”

Tickets will be available through the Maui Historical Society and at the auditorium on the day of the event. Check Hale Ho‘ike‘ike’s website at the end of March for more information. The drama will be presented again in spring 2020.

Between this spring and summer 2020, workshops and lectures will also be part of Kuamo‘o ‘Olelo O Kama. Details are being finalized.

Also coming up

>> The Lei Day Heritage Festival, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 1, wiil have poi-pounding demonstrations, live entertainment and food and craft booths. Make a lei there or enter one in the lei contest. Admission to Hale Ho‘ike‘ike will be free that day, so be sure to check out the exhibit of paper, seed and nut lei dating back to the 1940s and 1950s.

>> At Moonlight Mele, fans of Hawaiian music gather on the museum’s grounds three times a year. Taking the stage from 5 to 8 p.m. on the Saturday closest to the full moon are slack-key guitar virtuoso George Kahumoku Jr., a guest performer, and the students of Dr. Keola Donaughy, director of the Institute of Hawaiian Music at the University of Hawaii Maui College.

Upcoming dates are April 20, July 13 and Oct. 12. Admission is $5; free for keiki under 12.

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.