Saichi Kawahara Legacy

Saichi Kawahara, known to family and friends as Uncle, was a musician of the traditional Hawaiian style as well as a remarkable storyteller. After 35 years of dedicating his life to the perpetuation of Hawaiian culture, he was rightfully inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. Several years ago, his students and band members realized that it would be valuable and appreciated by many to catalogue and record the stories and songs shared by Uncle Saichi. A committee was formed to organize a library of these and to gather and compile interviews of people in Uncle’s life who might have recollections and stories of their own about our dear Uncle. A professional videographer is in the process of completing a documentary film which will include interviews with Keola Beamer, George Kahumoku, Kau’i Kahaku, and many others on their relationship and rich experiences with Uncle. There are some unavoidable costs in the making of this film such as professional technical services and equipment, etc. You can help perpetuate the culture, stories and songs shared by Uncle Saichi by contributing to this project. The plan is to result in a documentary which will be interview-based with supporting images and sounds from the Kapalakiko Hawaiian Band performances and other recording opportunities.  We are working hard to wrap up the documentary by mid-2020.

As many of you know, Uncle Saichi was undergoing major health issues for a good part of a year and finally lost the battle.  He passed away on the evening of October 5, 2019, surrounded by family, friends and loved ones. We are heavy hearted to see him go, but all the more incented to get this documentary completed and into the hands of all who knew and loved him and to all of those who have yet to know of his treasured history. All Go Fund Me contributions will be used to support the completion of the Legacy Project.  Thank you for your support!