Our community thrives through whatʻs rooted in culture, togetherness, and legacy so we continue to host our five annual events that serve those values. Some are fundraisers, some are communal gatherings, but all are a part of what makes our community so special.
Our largest fundraiser of the year is our Koʻolau ʻOhana Festival.
For over a decade this event was organized as a private dinner attended by supporting financial sponsors. After a hiatus due to the pandemic of 2020-2021, KOF returned as a new hybrid event. After hearing our community's feedback, we decided to open the doors of the event to everyone! To do so, in 2022 we initiated a format that allowed us to host both the private dinner and a free, open to the public event simultaneously. We found a way to put the ʻohana and the festival back into "Koʻolau ʻOhana Festival"!
And 2023 is evolved again - this year we celebrated our 55th Emerald Anniversary with "I Ola Kākou a Mau Loa" which echoes a line from our very own KEY oli written by Kumu Leimomi Akana and celebrates "our wellbeing evermore". To honor our history and welcome our enduring future, we invited everyone to join us over a span of two days.
Friday October 20 will brought us together with all our neighbors and community for the free, open to the public festival event, while Saturday October 21 will allowed us more specialized time with our financial and KEY supporters at the private dinner. By opening our doors two nights in a row we had the unique opportunity to truly enjoy each others' company in the most relevant ways possible.
ʻEmelala (Emerald) Level
Kula (Gold) Level
Kaiāulu (Community) Level
Our imu is one of the first things many people associate us with. We've been doing it for decades and it has been a community favorite every single time!
Every November, our KEY Team, partners, and volunteers spend days preparing a traditional imu on our grounds as we have the special honor of cooking family meals for hundreds to enjoy. Then, on Thanksgiving eve, approximately 350 turkeys make their way into the ground for the night, and come out bright and early Thanksgiving morning where our network of teamwork gets busy sorting and distributing them all while still hot.
Tickets sell quickly so always keep an eye out around October!
March not only brings the beginning of Spring, but it marks the time for Kalo Fest!
This event has become a staple of our ʻāina based connectivity to our neighboring farm and wet lands. Our ahupuaʻa is host to a rich lineage of kalo and we enjoy bringing the community together to learn about this natural foundation of our surrounding culture through music, educational and vendor booths, food, and more.
Each year we invite the special women in our lives (as well as anyone else who has held space in the development and growth of our keiki) to our campus on the Saturday before Mothers' Day to celebrate and honor them for all that they do for our future generations.
Every Saturday before Fathers' Day, KEY offers a fun filled event to recognize and entertain all of the father figures in our lives. From food and games to entertainment and dad jokes, families come together to enjoy each other's company in celebration of those who represent the paternal roles for us.
