Celebration of Life: Saying Aloha with Love

Dearest Friends,

I never imagined that my first steps toward healing would begin by volunteering. In 2025, just eight days after my husband passed away, I attended the Celebration of Life. Our Hawaiʻi Care Choices certified nurse aid told me about the event and encouraged me to go. I gathered my courage, decorated my lantern, traveled from our home and helped with setting up and attending the event.

My husband was a very private person and hadn’t wanted a funeral or an obituary, but he had always been someone who gave back to the community. He had volunteered with Hawaiʻi Care Choices and had participated in the Alzheimer’s Association walk, quietly offering his time and compassion. So I asked myself, “What would he do?” and decided to take the chance to attend the Celebration of Life event. Once I arrived, it immediately felt so right to honor him in the way he loved most, by giving back.

For me, Celebration of Life provided a special opportunity to say “aloha” and “mahalo” to my beloved husband. The decorations, the food, the entertainment and dance, and the community gathering gave me a meaningful way to come together to remember and honor him. For me personally, it was my way of accepting that his passing was real.

As the community began to arrive and the event got underway, I noticed something else that felt truly healing: I realized that I was not alone in my grief. I saw others there, some of them friends, and I hadn’t even known that they had lost loved ones. They were there for the same reason I was – to honor someone special. It was comforting to be comforted, but also to comfort someone else, despite the grief we were all carrying. There was mutual understanding and mutual giving of ourselves to one another.

With my niece and friends supporting me from behind, I waded into the bay and placed my lantern into the water. Amazingly, it lingered for a while, drifted a few feet away, returned, and touched my ankle, lingering some more before finally drifting out to join the other lanterns. 

I truly believe this is a beautifully touching event for anyone who wishes to honor a loved one who has passed. Whether the loss is recent or many years old, the memories are still very fresh for families and partners. To see people take the time to remember and honor those they love is incredibly touching, and it reminds us that grief is not something we need to carry alone.

My bereavement counselor shared that “grief is part of love... it’s the reverse side of the same coin.”

I invite you to join and support us at the 2026 Celebration of Life on Sunday, May 24th as we come together in respect, to hold one another with kindness, and to walk this journey of life united by compassion and love. With my warmest aloha,

Kaholo

Join Celebration of Life 2026

Hawaiʻi Island’s largest lantern floating ceremony brings the first bon dance of the season, live music, hula, memorial activities, food vendors, and celebration of loved ones passed for the whole ʻohana. We invite the community to the 22nd Annual Celebration of Life Lantern Floating Event on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at Reed’s Bay Beach Park in Hilo from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM. Visit our event page on on Celebration of Life or to purchase a luminary or call (808) 969-1733.