Archives for Events

Natatorium dancers seek courageous followers!

Here’s something fun… with an important lesson. Check it out. Yeah, sure; it’s true. Sometimes, we here at natatorium.org feel like the Dancing Guy, the lone nut out there trying to tell people how important it is to pay attention to one of the Hawai’i’s great treasures, how important it is to keep faith with the men and women who died, how important it is to be true to our history and culture. And the lone nut needs a first follower. And a second. Because, after all, “Three is a crowd, and a crowd is news.” And a crowd can
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Categories: Events and Uncategorized.

Upcoming Natatorium Presentations

On Monday, March 15, we will be at the State Capitol participating in Heritage Day from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Come down and check us out! On Wednesday, March 17, we will be addressing the Waikiki Rotary at their noon meeting. It’s never too early to mark your calendar for our annual Memorial Day Service on Sunday, May 30, at 10 a.m. Stay tuned for other opportunities to learn more about the Natatorium.
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Categories: Events, Memorial Day, and Uncategorized.

Now playing…

The Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium is not only a memorial to Hawai’i history, but itself a part of that history. The world premiere run of a new play, The Three-Year Swim Club, is a good occasion to remind ourselves that this commemoration of Hawai’i’s war dead was always meant as a living memorial, full of activity and emblematic of the way of life that our military men and women fought to preserve. And as a living memorial, the Natatorium has had a unique role in Hawai’i’s history and the history of competitive swimming. This show, written by Lee A. Tonouchi
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Categories: Events, History, and Uncategorized.

Guest post: Reflections on "The Eddie" and the Natatorium

The sun was up. The crowd was up. Most important, the surf was up. And “The Eddie” was on. One of the world’s most compelling competitions – a surfing contest that organizers refuse to run unless the waves are massive enough to scare the boardshorts off of Neptune – was on. For only the eighth time in 25 tries. That’s the mystique of the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau. A superhuman challenge, one dedicated to the memory of a superhero who “would go” in the face of nearly anything the sea could stir up? Something like that can’t be
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Categories: Events and Uncategorized.

A Veterans Day tribute

The Friends of the Natatorium join today with our fellow citizens — in Hawai’i and across the country — in honoring and expressing everlasting gratitude to all who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Recalling the words of the famous World War I poem “In Flanders Fields,” we shall not — ever — break faith with our veterans.
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Categories: Events, Uncategorized, and Veterans.

Honor them in words and in deeds

Tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day. It is a day to honor all those who have worn the uniform of our country. It is a day to thank them. But it is more than that: Tomorrow is also a time to recommit ourselves as a nation to what the president, in his Veterans Day proclamation, called our “obligation to … fellow citizens who have risked their lives to defend our freedom.” So on Wednesday, the Friends of the Natatorium urge you to honor our veterans. We urge you to thank them for their service. We also urge you to
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Categories: Events, Uncategorized, and Veterans.

John Henry Felix's Memorial Day Service Address, May 24, 2009

“82 years ago, Duke Kahanamoku, the Olympic Legend and Hawaii’s original Ambassador of Aloha, inaugurated the Natatorium.  What a glorious day that was. If he could be with us today, he would be appalled and deeply saddened by what he would see.  He would be outraged that our elected officials were considering demolition, because he had a deep aloha for what this Memorial stood for — reverence, honor and respect for those who defended us.” — John Henry Felix from his remarks on May 24, 2009 at the 21st Annual Memorial Day Service at the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. Watch
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Categories: Events, Memorial Day, and Uncategorized.

Waikiki Natatorium Memorial Day Service Honors Solemn Commitment to Remember Those Who Sacrificed

Advertiser Reporter Mary Vorsino in a May 17th article and Columnist David Shapiro on May 20th claimed that the Friends of the Natatorium intend to use the 21st Annual Memorial Day Service on May 24, 2009 to “launch a last-ditch fundraising drive.”   For two decades, the Napoleon/Weight Ohana and Friends of the Natatorium have faithfully organized this annual observance and invited the public to honor our collective commitment to remembering those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. We have and would never profane such a solemn and important occasion with fundraising. On May 27, 2009, the Advertiser issued
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Categories: Events, Memorial Day, and Uncategorized.

Memorial Day Service on Sunday, May 24th, 10am

  21ST ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE AT THE WAIKIKI WAR MEMORIAL NATATORIUM Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m. “Kupa’a i ke kuleana, Ka ‘ihi, Ka mahalo, a me ke kupili” Committed to Responsibility, Respect, Reverence and Reason   Since 1989, the Friends of the Natatorium have sponsored this annual Memorial Day Weekend ceremony in memory of Hawaii’s beloved lost from all American wars and in honor of the state’s military veterans. This highly visual ceremony at the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium annually attracts hundreds to the state’s official memorial to the 101 from Hawaii who died in World War I. The
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Categories: Events, Memorial Day, and Uncategorized.

Nancy Bannick Tribute Concert

A Tribute to Nancy Bannick Blaisdell Concert Hall Friday, November 7, 2008 Featuring: Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus, Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, Beebe Freitas Tickets are Free, Seating is General Admission/Unreserved Presenters: Chamber Music Hawaii, Friends of the Natatorium, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Hawaii Public Radio, Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus, Honolulu Symphony, Historic Hawaii Foundation Kapiolani Park Preservation Society & Save Diamond Head Association NANCY BANNICK / 1926-2008 Preservationist championed isle landmarks Nancy Bannick’s legacy lives on in the charm of historic Chinatown, the wide-open feel of Kapiolani Park, the ongoing campaign to preserve the Waikiki Natatorium and the sounds of violins at Blaisdell Concert Hall. Without her dogged advocacy and personal
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Categories: Events and Uncategorized.