A lot of volunteer work, but not a lot of money, has gone into a state-led effort in Hawaii as part of a nationwide initiative to commemorate the founding of the United States 250 years ago.

The local effort assigned to a 19-member commission formed in early 2024 has led to a series of events around the state scheduled before, on and after the July 4 anniversary.

Events include Hawaii grade-school students who competed in a national contest expressing what America means to them, production and distribution of more than 100 America250 flags, and coordinating a planned mass reading of the Declaration of Independence at about 65 places around the state at noon on July 8.

Hawaii, however, won’t have a delegation from the commission participating in the Great American State Fair due to cost and staffing requirements. The 16-day exposition began Thursday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and was promoted as featuring exhibits from all 50 states and U.S. territories.

The Hawai‘i America250 Commission was set up by Gov. Josh Green at the direction of the state Legislature with no state funding, and has been led in part by several Hawaii residents whose ancestors fought in the American revolution or contributed to the patriotic effort to establish the United States of America in 1776.

Peter Young — a former state Department of Land and Natural Resources director, commission chair, and member of the Hawaii Society of Sons of the American Revolution — said Hawai‘i America250 secured $25,000 in contributions, including $20,000 from the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission.

“It would have been less pressure if we had a big appropriation,” he said. “But we didn’t. And so we got to work with what we have.”

The nationwide America250 initiative led by the federal government is supposed to be bipartisan, but there has been friction between the Republican-led federal government and state government in Hawaii dominated by Democrats in other areas of program funding.

State Rep. Diamond Garcia — a Republican elected after lawmakers passed a 2022 resolution urging the governor to form the commission but provided no funding — praised commissioners for their dedication but said legislative leaders and the governor didn’t give the mission much focus, in his view.

“It obviously wasn’t top of mind for them,” said Garcia (R, Ewa-Kapolei), the minority floor leader in the House of Representatives.

The governor’s office said in a statement that Green’s administration appreciates the work of the Hawai‘i America250 Commission and many community partners helping to mark the nation’s historic milestone.

“Decisions regarding specific events and activities have reflected available resources and priorities,” the statement said, “and the Governor is pleased that Hawaii is contributing to the commemoration in ways that highlight our state’s unique history, people and values.”

Thrifty programming

Young said the commission, whose members include representatives of the four county mayors and the governor’s office, largely tried to develop or participate in programs that had little or no cost.

The commission’s biggest expense was close to $12,000 to buy around 130 custom-made America250 flags.

The first 20 flags were bought using $2,000 of a $10,000 grant from the national commission. Later, another roughly 110 flags were bought using a second $10,000 grant from the national organization originating from Walmart.

Young said the flags were distributed to ROTC clubs at high schools and the University of Hawaii where they have been featured at sporting events and other ceremonies. About 30 flags were provided to the state, and each county headquarters building also flies an America250 flag from the commission. Local chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution also received flags to promote the anniversary.

Many of the flags have been featured in past events and will be featured in local Fourth of July parades.

The parades are annual events put on by other community organizations, and the commission aims to enhance participation. One parade, in Kailua, is expected to be the biggest, featuring 10,000 to 15,000 people, according to Young, who said the commission plans to send an America250 marching unit with seven color guards and 250 people.

The commission also is arranging to have a large America250 marching unit with a color guard in other Fourth of July parades, including one in Kailua-Kona where about 10,000 people are normally expected.

After the flags, the second-biggest purchase by the commission was 30,000 decorative magnets featuring the America250 logo for distribution at the parades and other Fourth of July events on every island, including county-sponsored fireworks displays.

Major event

One widespread semiquincentennial event organized by the commission is a mass reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 8 simultaneously with people around the world coordinated by the national America250 organization.

This event, dubbed “Sharing the Spirit of America,” commemorates the first public reading of the 1,320-word document on July 8, 1776, outside the Pennsylvania State House now known as Independence Hall.

At least 526 locations globally, including on every continent and some inhabited Pacific atolls, are designated public group reading places, including about 65 in Hawaii mainly at public libraries, schools and county headquarters buildings.

The reading is to begin at 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, which is noon in Hawaii, and should take about 10 minutes. A map of the locations is at hawaii america250.org.

To promote this event, the commission prerecorded a video with 36 local participants reading sections of the document, including Hawaii’s governor and four county mayors. As of last week, editors were still working on the video, which the commission plans to feature on its website and on YouTube.

Another low-cost or no-cost way for Hawaii to join national America250 programming was the commission’s promotion of a student contest called America’s Field Trip.

The nationwide contest held this year and in the prior two years asked students from third to 12th grade to express in an essay or artwork what America means to them.

Young said the commission helped promote the contest in Hawaii public and private schools where a different local student placed second in each year and earned $500.

Fundraising difficulty

A major shortcoming of the commission was having to sit out the national fair despite efforts to participate.

State funding, Garcia said, would have been a worthy investment, similar to the support the state often provides for trade shows.

“We are the last state to enter the union,” he said. “We are the 50th star in the flag. We should be represented on the National Mall at America’s Great State Fair.”

Young said it was costing some other states $200,000 to $250,000 to participate in the 16-day event.

”We had multiple people looking all over to try to get money for that,” he said. “We could not get commitments for large amounts of money.”

The only America250 commemoration business partners listed by the local commission are Home Depot and Zippy’s.

Young said raising large donations in Hawaii was challenging, and he pointed to lingering public resentment over the U.S. role in overthrowing the Hawaiian Kingdom as one possible factor.

“There has been some sensitivity and recognition that some people may not want to celebrate (America’s founding),” he said. “But it is a moment in history that is worth commemorating.”

Young noted that Hawaii was not known to the western world when British subjects declared their independence from England in America where 13 colonies formed an initial piece of a new country. The sovereign Hawaiian government, Young also said, later drew on language in the Declaration of Independence when it began a shift in 1839 from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy long before the 1893 overthrow and annexation of Hawaii as a territory in 1898.

“If (Thomas) Jefferson didn’t write what he did, and if the Second Continental Congress didn’t approve … the Declaration of Independence, then we may not have had the same kind of declaration of rights or constitutions which were the first governance documents for the Hawaiian Kingdom,” Young said. “There’s a connection, and it’s not a bad connection. So, maybe not celebrate, but commemorate, acknowledging (American independence) was a historical event.”

Young said some of the people who helped establish America made sacrifices — including those who lost their lives — that benefit all Hawaii residents today.

“We, as Americans, have certain rights,” he said. “Other people don’t have those same kinds of rights we do, and those rights are because of what (the founders) did 250 years ago.”

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A car rammed into Sunshine Market, off Lusitana Street, around 5:45 a.m., on Thursday, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.

Responding firefighters and police officers secured the area, helped the tow truck service remove the blue vehicle, and provided stabilization to the building.

HFD says the building owner requested the building to be sealed.

The scene was cleared by 9:46 a.m., and no one was injured.

Kauai is marking America250 with events that highlight the island’s layered history — from early Native Hawaiian stewardship to Western contact, plantation‑era immigration and modern military ties — as residents navigate mixed feelings about July Fourth.

The commemorations blend patriotic traditions with reflections on sovereignty, cultural identity and community care. Local leaders say the milestone offers a chance to honor Kauai’s diverse people, even as some residents view Independence Day as a reminder of loss.

One of Kauai’s largest America250 events — the annual Concert in the Sky — reflects the blend of celebration and community care. The July Fourth show, headlined by Grammy‑nominated reggae band The Green, doubles as a major fundraiser for Kaua‘i Hospice, which has provided palliative care and grief support on the island for more than 40 years.

The “friend‑raiser,” as the hospice calls it, was founded 33 years ago to bring families together during a holiday that carries different meanings across the community.

Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said the summer concert and other observances provide a moment to reflect on shared American history and the people who helped shape the country.

“America is defined by its people, and it is the diversity of cultures, traditions, and lived experiences that continues to make our nation unique and worth celebrating,” Kawakami said in a statement.

“Here on Kauai, we are especially proud of our diverse community, where many backgrounds and histories come together to shape the fabric of island life,” he said. “That diversity is a reflection of what makes America, America.”

The range of sentiment is rooted in the island’s long record, much of which is documented in the Kaua‘i Historical Society’s account of Kauai’s past. The organization preserves the island’s history as Hawaii’s oldest major island, from early Native Hawaiians tending taro to the Kauai residents of today.

According to the Society’s history, Kauai was Hawaii’s first point of sustained Western contact and saw major cultural change with the arrival of American Protestant missionaries Samuel Whitney and Mercy Partridge Whitney. The island later became a center of sugar and pineapple production, drawing waves of immigrant labor and expanding American economic influence.

The Society also notes Kauai’s connection to Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole — grandson of the island’s last ruling chief, Kaumuali‘i — who was imprisoned for a year and witnessed the overthrow of Queen Lili‘uokalani.

The Society’s record further traces Kauai’s modern military ties to the Pacific Missile Range Facility — originally named Mana Airport before the attack on Pearl Harbor — which has played a vital role in U.S. defense strategy, missile testing and underwater warfare development since World War II.

The Society also documents mid‑century community life, including a March 1959 gathering of about 10,000 people at Burns Field, where residents held a bonfire to celebrate Hawaii’s admission to the union months before Hurricane Dot struck.

Today, Independence Day remains complicated for many. Although many on Kauai will wave the American flag on July Fourth as a symbol of freedom from one monarchy, others will mourn the overthrow of another.

For Native Hawaiian community organizer Megan Wong and her ohana, American Independence Day is a time to reflect.

“It is a reminder of the loss of our nation’s independence. To many of us, it feels like a celebration of our dispossession taking place in our own country… Our kuleana is to Hawaii, to our people, and to ensuring our keiki know exactly who they are and where they come from,” Wong said in a text message to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Even with those mixed feelings, July Fourth remains a day when many on Kauai come together — including at the Concert in the Sky, which supports Kaua‘i Hospice’s work with families across the island.

“We’ve proudly celebrated this along (with) our veterans and extended families, (who are) enjoying this very festive moment,” said Tricia Yamashita, executive director of Kaua‘i Hospice.

“When you ask most people where they would want to spend their last day of life, it’s usually in their home setting or in a special place to them,” said Yamashita. “It’s not in a hospital surrounded by a bunch of machines.”

The hospice also helps grant final wishes such as watching one last sunset over the ocean — even when physical limitations make such moments seem impossible.

It provides families with tools for a graceful transition, including a 24/7 nurse line to ease the stresses of post-death coordination.

“We help caregivers to deliver care and do things they never thought they could do,” she said.

Every ticket purchased will support costly and time-intensive hospice care for patients and their families. Attendees can also support local crafters, small business food vendors and other local nonprofits. Visit kauaihospice.org for more event information and to donate directly to Kaua‘i Hospice.

“We’re dependent on each other on this Independence Day,” Yamashita said.