Last Friday, hundreds of Punahou alumni and friends across the country and around the world again met up virtually to listen to Henry Kapono Kaaihue ’67 perform live from the backyard of his East Honolulu home. The virtual concert was the last of three broadcasts with Kapono on the Punahou Alumni Facebook page. The concert series continues with Pomaika’i Keawe ’99 Lyman on Friday, May 15.
While Kapono and his guest musicians crooned classics and took requests for songs like “Goodtimes Together,” “Sunflower” and “Friends,” alumni friends bantered back and forth in the Facebook comments – greeting, reminiscing and closing the distance between each other. It was a chance to be transported to youthful days in Hawai‘i, and for one hour, to forget about quarantines and worries about the coronavirus pandemic.
“Thank you for taking the time to share your amazing gift with us last night on Facebook,” wrote Ricko Rask ’88, a nurse practitioner in Colorado. “I was able to steal some time away from the chaos that is my professional life right now and remember a time that was worry free and so much fun. I have taken your music along everywhere I have lived, and it has always lifted my spirits as it did again last night.”
“Mahalo! Class of ’92 needing sunshine and warmth in the Midwest (it snowed today!),” said Alexis Skigen ’92 Rego.
The #PunsUnited live backyard concert series will continue on Friday, May 15 with Pomaika’i Keawe ’99 Lyman and friends. The concerts are free and open to all. To watch live, visit facebook.com/punahoualumni. The concerts are also recorded and posted on Facebook for on-demand viewing.