From http://www.facebook.com/lahoihoiea:
We encourage the observance and celebration of La Ho’iho’i Ea everywhere Hawaiians tread the ‘AINA…
Please join us, Sunday July 31st 2011 ( @ Thomas Square in Honolulu), to celebrate and honor our ancestors, our history, our sovereignty and our unending fight for justice.
La Ho‘iho‘i Ea, celebrated from 1843 to 1893, commemorates the British Crown’s acknowledgment of Hawai‘i as an independent nation. A testament to Hawai‘i and our right to self-governance. Originally La Ho‘iho‘i Ea was a week long annual celebration marked by Hawaiian patriotism and all the best that our islands have to offer including music, crafts, games, food and community. It was celebrated for 50 years until, in 1893, Hawai‘i once again came under illegal occupation, this time by America.
Banned throughout the kingdom in the year 1893 along with other national holidays (i.e. La Kuokoa – Hawaii Independence Day ). La Ho‘iho‘i Ea experienced a rebirth in 1975 when Hawaiian national, scholar, and patriot Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell resurrected this holiday to honor and celebrate our continued independence and sovereignty, despite a century long American occupation.
“Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono”
“The sovereignty of our nation is preserved through righteousness.”