SEATTLE — Hōkūleʻa, a Polynesian voyaging canoe, is visiting Seattle at Pier 62 Waterfront Park Saturday, Aug. 26. Public tours and crew presentations will also be held throughout the four-day stay, according to the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
Seattle’s Tribal Nations, Native Hawaiian residents, city officials and community members will host a welcome celebration for Hōkūleʻa and her crew as they sail from Suquamish to the Seattle waterfront.
The canoe is expected to arrive in Elliot Bay at 8 a.m. Saturday, though arrival ceremony times are subject to change based on Tribal Nations protocols and water conditions.
Docking is expected around 9:45 a.m., where the crew will engage in landing rituals before going to the welcome ceremony, led by the Suquamish and Muckleshoot Indian Tribes, at 10:30 a.m.
After Hawaiian greeting protocols are completed, the public will hear remarks from Seattle city officials and Hōkūleʻa navigator Nainoa Thompson. Unkitawa, an Indigenous arts and culture group, will also host a pow-wow throughout the afternoon.
The public will have an opportunity to tour the legendary voyaging canoe from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
Over the following days of the Hōkūleʻa’s Seattle visit, the canoe will be docked at Bell Harbor Marina along the waterfront. Crew members will lead public canoe tours and participate in public events at the Seattle Aquarium, Patagonia in Seattle and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington.
Depending on weather conditions, Hōkūleʻa is scheduled to depart Seattle for Tacoma on Aug. 30, arriving to a welcome ceremony at the Foss Waterway Seaport Museum around noon.
Hōkūleʻa was built in Honolulu, Hawaii and launched on March 8, 1975, according to the Polynesian Voyaging Society. The canoe, which is 20 feet wide and 62 feet long, has sailed more than 140,000 miles across the Pacific.
The Hōkūleʻa represents a “generation of renewal for Hawai’i’s Indigenous people,” according to the Polynesian Voyaging Society, in addition to the renewal of Hawaiian language, culture and traditions.
Updates about the Hōkūleʻa journey and ceremony times can be found at hokulea.com.
