“Happy Days are Here Again” for Hawaii Kupuna on Valentine’s Day

Just in time for Valentine’s Day Weekend, the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Senior Section is offering four heart-felt videos as part of its Virtual Senior Valentine Program and Hawaii Kupuna in the Park video series.

“Now more than ever, it is important to take some time to smile and remember to love one another,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “Luckily we have the ability in this day and age to reach each other and connect on an enormous scale while remaining physically distant. I applaud our park staff for putting together these lovely videos and look forward to the day when we can gather at the Blaisdell and celebrate Valentine’s Day with all our parks and rec kūpuna.”

The videos feature love stories from our Senior Club kūpuna, a slide show showcasing our DPR clubs & activities, and musical presentations from Mā‘ili Recreation Director Bronson Varde and Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning singer Melveen Leed. The videos will be available beginning Friday, Feb. 12 at 12 noon on DPR’s YouTube Channel: bit.ly/DPRyoutube . The videos will also be posted on DPR’s various social media platforms.

Here’s what you can expect from these Valentine-themed videos:

In Episode 9, some of our Senior Club members talk story recounting some of their most romantic memories, including a marriage proposal 47-years in the making.

Get ready for Melveen Leed in Episode 10, as DPR is privileged to present the legendary singer performing a variety of musical genres perfect for dancing with your loved one.

For Episode 11, Bronson Varde, our talented Recreation Director out of the Leeward Coast, will serenade you with the smooth acoustic sounds of his original songs “Quarantine My Heart,” “Take That Chance,” and “Love.”

To tie it all together, Episode 12 features a slide show of our 32 DPR Senior Clubs, whose members we continue to communicate with while physical distancing limits our in-person interactions.

Under regular circumstances, DPR would be hosting hundreds of kūpuna and VIPs in the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall today as part of the 52nd Annual Senior Valentines Dance. However, due to circumstances required to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, this annual celebration of love has been reimagined to allow our treasured kūpuna to showcase their vigor while remaining safe and healthy. We look forward to seeing our Senior Club members in-person in the near future.