Change marked the annual Senior Lū’au, held last night, at the high school campus.

The seniors decided to have their lū’au in the quad, instead of Nāmāhana Dining Hall, where many classes in the past had held theirs.

“This is the first class to venture to the great outdoors,” Headmaster LeeAnn Delima said.

The class of 2013 had attempted an outdoor event last year, but they had to move their Senior Ball indoors when bad weather threatened to ruin it.

“Being outdoors definitely gives it the lū’au atmosphere,” senior Leimana Hassett said. “It’s nice to see the stars and the moon as well.”

The decorations were hanging lights and lauhala baskets with proteas. The centerpieces were sold to raise additional funds.

Along with the location change, the seniors also did away with the traditional silent auction. Because the lūʻau is fundraiser for Project Graduation, every other class has had one.

Instead, there was tons of entertainment. Members of the Palakiko family performed, along with Hawaiian Ensemble and seniors Ne’ula ʻAʻarona and Shalia Kamakaokalani.

To make the evening even more relaxing, the junior class was involved in food preparation, service and clean up.  In return, the senior class PTSO offered to donate money to the junior class if they helped throughout the night. This allowed all parents to enjoy the night, rather than having to serve food.

“They know how hard it is for PTSO parents to raise money for Project Graduation,” Class Adviser Kalena Laepa’a said. “They thought this would be a great opportunity for the juniors to make money for their Project Grad.”

Hawaiian plate was served with kalua pig and rice, lomi salmon, macaroni salad, chicken long rice, squid luau, onions and poi.

“It was nice of the senior class to think of us, and we enjoyed helping out,” junior Tynell Ornellas said.

Another first for the class this year is that they were all wearing beautiful, orange lei — their class color. This is the first year for a class to all be wearing the matching lei.

The lei were donated by senior, Mikeila Yamamoto’s, great-grandmother.

“I asked her if she would make graduation leis, and she went full-out and made for the whole class” Yamamoto said.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Photo by Maile Sur

The event was held outside in the quad. The tents and the lights added to the atmosphere.