King Kekaulike High School students were revealed on Friday as the winners of the 29th annual Honolulu Festival Maui Mikoshi design contest. Photo courtesy King Kekaulike High School

King Kekaulike High School won the 29th annual Honolulu Festival Maui Mikoshi design contest.

The Honolulu Festival Foundation announced King Kekaulike as the winner on Friday. The winning mikoshi design will be unveiled at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Hawai’i Convention Center and showcased during the Grand Parade through Waikiki on Sunday.

A mikoshi is an elaborate portable shrine traditionally paraded through the streets of Japan as a part of Japanese festivals. Mikoshi typically resemble a mini building and are carried on the shoulders of individuals in a procession using two to four poles.

Every year since the contest began in 2003, Maui schools are invited to submit unique designs inspired by the festival’s theme, this year’s theme being “Bridging Cultures, Together for a Peaceful Tomorrow.”

For their winning design, the King Kekaulike High School team created their mikoshi to symbolize togetherness of people from all walks of life.

“For our design we tried to depict how in the past and going to the future, from the mountain and the sea we are all together!” said Faith Harriman, a King Kekaulike High School student responsible for compiling the group’s ideas and illustrating the mikoshi design. “We chose to drape maile lei because it has an underlying meaning of peace and harmony. We also thought a humpback whale could represent how even one creature can remind us of how small we are. By ourselves we may be small but by collaboration and cooperation we can make huge accomplishments.”

On the design of the front and side panels, Harriman said, “We also thought that adding different shoes on the beach adds to them by showing different ‘walks of life.’ The birds are a dove and a crane which are both symbols of prosperity and peace. Then we added peonies, poppies, lotuses, and daisies which in the language of flowers and different cultures can also mean peace. We thought that everyone rides the ‘waves of life’ so we decided to depict that by strings of flags following a person on a surfboard would be a creative interpretation. When people view them from the sides, we want people to see from the mountain to the ocean together we carry peace all together.”

As a celebration of their victory, the King Kekaulike High School student group, along with their advisor, Aki Summers, will travel to O’ahu to present their winning mikoshi design at the Honolulu Festival, first in the Hawaiʻi Convention Center exhibit hall throughout the weekend of March 8-9 and, then, through Waikiki as part of the parade.

The 29th annual Honolulu Festival is a weekend celebration of Pacific Rim culture, featuring two days of cultural performances and exhibits at the Hawai’i Convention Center, Ala Moana Center, and Waikiki Beach Walk, as well as the grand parade through Waikiki and the Nagaoka Fireworks Show over Waikiki Beach.

The annual cultural celebration is made possible by the nonprofit Honolulu Festival Foundation with the support of the State of Hawai’i, City and County of Honolulu, Hawai’i Tourism Authority, generous corporate sponsors, and dedicated volunteers. The Foundation supports educational and cultural programs for Hawaii’s schools and the community through public outreach and charitable efforts.