Honouliuli's 10th Anniversary Celebration

Honouliuli National Historic Site marks 10-year anniversary with events and activities

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March 18, 2025
WAIPAHU, Hawaii -- Honouliuli National Historic Site, established Feb. 24, 2015, will commemorate its 10-year anniversary with monthly events and activities in the coming year.

From March 2025 through January 2026, the park and its partners will honor and preserve this history by featuring different aspects of the park -- past, present, and future -- to connect and engage the community to important history lessons that are relevant today.

Two events will kick-off the celebrations this month: On March 27 at 10 a.m. at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i, a panel will share the story of how Honouliuli became a national park, which will include a park update from Superintendent Christine Ogura.

On March 30 at 3 p.m., Mary Farrell and Jeff Burton, archaeologists for Japanese American confinement sites in Hawaii, will talk about their archaeological excavations at the park and other sites in the state. This will be a virtual event and the link will be on the park’s website.

Events and activities will include a speaker series, special tours, book events, pop-up exhibits, film screenings, panel sessions, musical performances, youth and school initiatives, and a statewide art exhibit. Many events will be free through the park’s partnership with its non-profit organization, Pacific Historic Parks.

The park tells the story of incarceration, martial law, and prisoners of war in Hawaii during World War II. The incarceration site, opened in 1943, was the largest and longest used incarceration site in Hawaii where U.S. residents and citizens of Japanese and European ancestry were unjustly detained. The camp also held over 4,000 prisoners of war including Okinawans, Koreans, and Italians.

The park will present these events and activities in collaboration with park partners.

Over 50 partners are engaged and include (in alphabetical order): American Institute of Architects-Honolulu Chapter, Bayer Hawaii, Bishop Museum, Brandy Nalani McDougall-State Poet Laureate, Center for Korean Studies, Center for Okinawan Studies, Center for Oral History, daShop, Daniel K. Inouye Institute, Davis Democracy Initiative at Punahou School, Downtown Art Center, Girl Scouts of Hawaii, Hawaii Arts Alliance, Hawai’i Audubon Society, Hawaii Council for the Humanities, Hawaii Handweavers Hui, Hawaii Opera Theater, Hawaii’s Plantation Village, Hawaii Quilt Guild, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Hawaii Watercolor Society, Higashi Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, Historic Hawaii Foundation, Honolulu Go Club, Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Honolulu Kupuna Shed, Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu Printmakers, Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, Japanese American Citizens League-Honolulu Chapter, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i, Jodo Mission of Hawaii, Kalaeloa Heritage Park, Kapiolani Community College, Kapolei Chamber of Commerce, King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, Kenny Endo and the Taiko Center of the Pacific, Kinetic Productions, Konko Mission, Korean American Foundation, Koyasan Shingon Mission of Hawaii, Leeward Community College, Malama Learning Center, Matsunaga Institute for Peace, Native Books, Nichiren Mission of Hawaii, Pacific Historic Parks, Patagonia, Scouting America-Aloha Council, Soto Mission of Hawaii, Tendai Mission of Hawaii, The United Korean Association of Hawaii, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu, and the William S. Richardson School of Law.

The latest information on all events and activities are on the park’s website. You can also visit the park’s Facebook or Instagram.