The annual King Kamehameha lei draping ceremony is part of a weekedn of festivities to mark King Kamehameha Day on June 11.
King Kamehameha I Day on June 11 is a public holiday in Hawaii. It honors Kamehameha the Great, the monarch who first established the unified Kingdom of Hawai’i.
The most important ritual of the celebration dates back to 1901 after the Territory of Hawai’i was established. It is the afternoon draping ceremony in which the Kamehameha Statue in front of Ali’iolani Hale and ‘Iolani Palace on King Street in downtown Honolulu is draped in long strands of lei. The same is done at the Kamehameha Statue on the former monarch’s home island, the Big Island of Hawai’i. Outside of the state, a similar draping ceremony is held at the United States Capitol where the Kamehameha Statue there is also draped in lei in the company of federal officials.
