A joint venture of five locally owned businesses, Mana Hawaii will give visitors a chance to experience contemporary Hawaiian culture through artists and local producers
HONOLULU, WAIKIKI, OAHU – When it opens this December, the newest tenant to sign on as part of Outrigger’s Waikiki Beach Walk(TM) retail complex will offer visitors and locals plenty of beautiful Hawaiian-made items to take home with them, but anyone who visits Mana Hawaii will likely capture memories and knowledge of the Islands that are more than just merchandise.
The store – 1,600 square feet of locally made items, including books, artwork, woodwork, clothing, hula implements, ukulele and more – will also offer guests the opportunity to learn about Hawaiian culture by spending time with local artists and taking part in cultural activities taught by practitioners of everything from surfing to hula to ukulele-playing. Guests will also have the opportunity to experience the authentic healing practice of lomilomi massage. The intent is to offer visitors a way to experience the culture and history of Hawaii the way locals would -by learning and doing.
„Mana Hawaii is a truly unique way to connect visitors to the Hawaiian community,“ said David Carey, President and CEO of Outrigger Enterprises Group. „We are honored to have a Hawaiian venture as part of Waikiki Beach Walk and we look forward to giving our guests the opportunity to learn about what makes Hawaii such a special place.“
Mana Hawaii is a joint venture by five locally owned businesses – Native Books, Na Mea Hawaii, Original Hawaiian Traders/The Hula Supply Center, Raku International / Ukulele House and The Lomi Shop – who are all equal partners in the parent company of the store, Kauhale LLC.
All five partners will operate the store – to be located on the second floor level of the retail complex overlooking the new open-air plaza – and offer authentic Hawaiian and locally-made merchandise and services alongside Hawaii-inspired products. The partners will also develop and run a schedule of cultural programming. Regular events such as strum-along ukulele classes will be held at the store and on the plaza, during which visitors will be able to learn a few chords of traditional Hawaiian songs and interact with the teacher to learn about the ukulele’s place in Hawaiian culture. Other unique programs include hula lessons for keiki and parents, sessions on
Hawaiian wellness such as lomilomi, cultural activities such as weaving a hala leaf bracelet or polishing a kukui nut while learning about the items‘ cultural significance, Hawaiian language lessons, and talk story sessions that will cover distinctive topics such as issues facing the Hawaiian community today, or discussions of ocean-related occupations.
„Mana Hawaii is very important to the mix of stores and restaurants at Waikiki Beach Walk,“ said Barbara Campbell, Vice President of Retail Development and Leasing for Outrigger Enterprises Group. „It is in many ways the centerpiece of our retail complex because it plays such an important role in giving visitors an authentic Hawaiian experience that can only be found here.“
While the merchandise and cultural activities are what may bring visitors into the shop, Mana Hawaii hopes to connect visitors with the artists and producers who bring contemporary Hawaii to life in their work. „Mana Hawaii is much more than a store,“ says Maile Meyer, owner of Native Books and Na Mea Hawaii, two of the five businesses that are launching Mana Hawaii. „We’re a community resource. We offer access to the Hawaiian
community for visitors who want to meet people and experience things that
embody the true essence of Hawaii. We want visitors to be able to celebrate Hawaii on a deeper level and feel a connection to our home.“
The owners of Mana Hawaii hope to be able to extend their concept to other islands – but not in the traditional sense of expansion. Instead, with the help of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, they are using their experience in launching the Waikiki Beach Walk location to create a business model of collaboration that can be replicated in other locations by other parties. For instance, if several small Hawaiian businesses on Maui wanted to collaborate on a larger venture in a resort area, the Mana Hawaii owners
would be able to provide them with a guide to launching such an enterprise.
Waikiki Beach Walk(tm) – Outrigger Enterprises Group’s $460 million redevelopment that is transforming nearly eight acres in the heart of Waikiki on the island of Oahu into a vibrant, pedestrian-centric gathering place – will include other Hawaiian cultural elements in addition to Mana Hawaii. The development’s design theme incorporates the Hawaiian outrigger canoe and Hawaii’s intimate relationship with the ocean. Glass canopies that
will hover gracefully over the outdoor plaza take their inspiration from the movement of the sea, and supporting beams are reminiscent of the boom (‚iako) and float (ama) of the outrigger canoe. The canopies will be lighted to create a beautifully illuminated contrast to the night sky.
Waikiki Beach Walk will also incorporate water features, tropical foliage, and stone walkways to create an inviting natural environment for its guests and customers.
In addition, live entertainment will be an ongoing feature of the open-air plaza in the center of the retail complex. Nightly entertainment will also be offered on the Grand Lanai of the Embassy Suites Hotel-Waikiki Beach Walk as well as within a number of the restaurants opening at Waikiki Beach Walk.
Local musicians, cultural festivities and other events that celebrate
Hawaii’s diverse ethnic makeup will be scheduled regularly throughout the year.
About Waikiki Beach Walk(TM)
Waikiki Beach Walk(TM) is the largest development project ever to be undertaken in Waikiki’s history. The 8 acre area, bordered by Kalakaua Avenue, Lewers Street, Kalia Road, Beach Walk and Saratoga Road, will be completely rebuilt and emerge as a vibrant showcase and gathering place in the new Waikiki. With a total cost of $460 million, it will feature an outdoor entertainment plaza, 40 new retailers, six great restaurants, and four hotels. Incorporating a design theme that celebrates Hawaii’s voyaging and ocean heritage and takes advantage of the island’s cooling trade winds
and year-round excellent weather, Waikiki Beach Walk(TM) will be the consummate expression of Hawaii today — a place where people come to be enlivened with warm hospitality, a rich confluence of cultures, and nature’s precious gifts from land and sea. The project’s Phase One is scheduled to be
completed in December 2006. For more information, visit www.waikikibeachwalk.com.
About Outrigger Enterprises Group, Inc.
Outrigger Enterprises Group, Inc. is one of the largest and fastest-growing hospitality services companies in the Pacific. Outrigger is a family-owned company with nearly 60 years of hospitality experience and runs a highly-successful, multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties, including Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, OHANA Hotels & Resorts, Outrigger Condominium Collection, Outrigger Resort Club by Fairfield and Embassy Suites Hotel-Waikiki Beach Walk(TM).* Outrigger
currently operates nearly 60 properties representing more than 12,000 guest rooms in Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti and Guam. Outrigger Enterprises Group also operates and develops hotel properties and hospitality-related retail and real estate opportunities for partners in Hawaii, the Pacific, the mainland USA and Asia. The company’s most recent initiative – Waikiki Beach Walk(TM), a $460 million, 8-acre hotel-retail-entertainment complex – is the largest development in the history of Waikiki, and is set to open in December 2006.
For on-line information, log on at www.outrigger.com.
