Hawaiian and Scottish event to benefit Maui Police Department’s Julie Wood.

A Celebration of Life - The Ka‘iulani Project, is an evening of music, history and theater celebrating the life and untold story of Hawaiian Princess Victoria Ka‘iulani Cleghorn. The performance will be staged at the Lahaina United Methodist Church, 142 Baker Street on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The event is a benefit for Julie Wood, senior crime scene investigator for the Maui Police Department, who is battling a rare and deadly form of appendix cancer. Wood is a viable candidate for a technologically advanced treatment discovered by Swedish scientists, but health insurance does not cover treatment outside the U.S.

Friends and co-workers, as well as Maui residents who have learned of her plight, are joining together in an effort to raise the $200,000 necessary so she can travel to Sweden for a procedure that could arrest or even cure her cancer. This team of volunteers, called “Julie’s Hope,” is planning a series of fundraising events, one of which is this performance of A Celebration of Life.

The evening will include selected scenes from the new script, Ka‘iulani, The Island Rose, by Jennifer Fahrni and Carol Harvie-Yamaguchi. Fahrni, an actress, researcher, playwright and Ka‘iulani advocate, will recount Ka‘iulani’s untold story and read from her script. This entertaining evening of music, history and theater will also features Kathy Collins, Wilmont K. Kahaiali‘i, Brado, Hamish Burgess, Tava Nui Tahitian Drummers and more.

Collins, an actress, Mana‘o Radio celebrity and winner of the 2005 Hawai‘i Music Award for Comedy Album of the Year, will bring Princess Ka‘iulani to life. Wilmont K. Kahaiali‘i, singer, guitarist and Hawaiian culturalist, will perform and read the part of King Kalakaua in selected scenes from the play. Brado, a Hawai‘i native from Kaua‘i, will perform contemporary island music and jazz. Scottish-born Hamish Burgess, Mana‘o Radio’s Celtic radio show host and owner of Maui Celtic, will fire up the bagpipes and read iscenes from the play. Tava Nui Tahitian Drumming Group will blast out the drums. John Crowe, a Scottish historian, will share his expertise and also read selected scenes from the play.

“It’s time Ka‘iulani was celebrated—here in Hawai‘i most importantly,” said Fahrni. “Ka‘iulani was a bridge between the cultures, and as the best of the Hawaiian and Scottish, her legacy lives on in all the multicultural children living in Hawai‘i today.”

The Ka‘iulani Project sheds new light on the Hawaiian princess, who, since her passing in 1899, has been referred to as a sad and “Tragic Princess.” After learning the truth about this young heroine, we will begin to remember Ka‘iulani for her vibrance and courageous efforts during her lifetime.

Fahrni is happy to help a member of our community and hopes to see any event that bears her name do the same—Ka‘iulani herself spent much of her energy raising funds for those in need. The project is leading to a large-scale stage production that will premiere on Maui.

Call Lahaina United Methodist Church at 661-3320 or The Ka‘iulani Project at 264-5190.

A Celebration of Life - The Ka‘iulani Project will also be presented at St. John’s Church in Keokea on Sunday, Nov. 16, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Afternoon tea and snacks will be served. Proceeds from the Keokea event will benefit St. John’s and The Ka‘iulani Project. Admission is by donation only. For information, call 878-1485.