The Lahaina Jodo Mission temple grounds will have its first O’Bon festival since the 2023 Lahaina wildfire on Saturday. The Bon dance is being organized by members and friends of the Mission and two other Buddhist temples. This photograph was taken at an earlier Bon Dance. Photo courtesy of Atsuko Sekiguchi.

The Buddhist temple with the largest copper and bronze statue of Buddha in the state is having its first O’Bon festival since an Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire ravaged the town of Lahaina.

A celebration of remembrance, resilience and community will begin at the Lahaina Jodo Mission near Mala Wharf at 5 p.m Saturday.

O’Bon festivals honor the ancestors and mark a time when families return to their home town.

The Bon dancing event, starting at 7 p.m., is a collaboration of three historic Lahaina Buddhist temples that were destroyed, including the Lahaina Jodo Mission, the Lahaina Hongwanji, and the Lahaina Shingon Mission.

The statue of Buddha, standing 12 feet high and commemorating the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant laborers to Hawaii in 1868, survived the wildfire but the buildings including the temples were destroyed.

The 12-foot-tall statue of Buddha survived the 2023 Lahaina wildfire that destroyed buildings on the grounds of the Lahaina Jodo Mission. Photo courtesy Lahaina Jodo Mission

In addition to Bon dancing, the event will feature Lahaina-based food and craft vendors, offering local flavors and handmade goods. Keiki games and activities, organized by student clubs from Lahainaluna High School, will serve as fundraisers for youth programs and leadership opportunities. Hands-on cultural craft activities will be hosted by Hui Noʻeau Visual Arts Center, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi, and the Japanese Cultural Society of Maui.

Two buses for attendees on a first-come, first-served basis are being provided for transportation from central Maui to the Mission in Lahaina with pickup at 4:30 p.m., one at the Kahului Hongwanji and another at the Maui County building.

Yayoi Hara, daughter of Lahaina Jodo Mission’s the Rev. Gensho Hara, said the event was made possible by the support of the community, who came together to prepare the site.

“Many, many hands came together to make this possible,” she said.

Hara said Maui resident Van Fisher along with his sons helped to remove the trash including asphalt.

“He said, ‘Hey, you want to get rid of this pile of asphalt?’ He said he felt this connection to this place and wanted to see the festival return,” she recalled, adding that in the past, a lantern was provided for Fisher’s late mother as part of the O’Bon ceremony.

Members of the Cabanilla family also joined in the cleanup.

“They were very happy and felt good,” she said. “This event came together to support and heal Lahaina and to show the resiliency of Lahaina Town.”