Kaua’i Premiere Showing — “Nona Beamer: Legacy of Aloha”

A candid portrait of Keola Beamer with his mother, Winona Kapuailohia Beamer and his wife, Moanalani. Contributed photo

The Malie Foundation will hold a Kaua’i premiere and benefit showing of the feature length documentary Nona Beamer: Legacy of Aloha will take place on Sunday, July 22 in the Ali`i Room of the Aloha Beach Resort  at the Wailua Bridge.

Aunty Nona Beamer came from a family steeped for generations in traditional Hawaiian music and hula. Her grandmother, Helen Desha Beamer, was the well-known composer.

The matriarch of the musical Beamer family, she was a songwriter, musician and teacher who died in 2008 after 84 years of joyfully sharing her deep knowledge of the Hawaiian culture.

Filmed and edited by Linda Kane, who will be present, this portrait of Aunty Nona includes some of the many people whose lives were influenced by her, including Kaua`i residents Nathan Kalama, Puna Kalama Dawson, Mauli Ola Cook, and Angeline Locey.

“Aunty Nona was my teacher at Kamehameha School,” said Nathan Kalama, founder of Mālie Foundation. “I am privileged to have been included in this documentary and grateful that Mālie Foundation was chosen to coordinate the premiere on Kaua’i.”

Others featured in the film include Gordean Bailey, Kaliko Beamer-Trapp, David Kawika Eyre, Caren Loebel-Fried, Jerry Santos, Kaleo Trinidad, Penny Vredenburg and more. Mark Jeffers, of Storybook Theater, contributed archival footage.

Through stories, songs and hula, these students, friends and colleagues create a picture of an amazing woman shaped by a turbulent time in Hawaiian history, a woman who also played a role in shaping that history. The film appeals both to those who don’t know much about Hawai`i or Aunty Nona, and those who know both well.

Nona Beamer, Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer was born in Honolulu and raised in Napo’opo’o on the Big Island. She was of Hawaiian, German, French, Scotch and Swedish ancestry.

Her Hawaiian name is an ancestral name that comes from Princess Manono and means precious flower. When Nona started school at Kamehameha, she ran headlong into the missionary influences still extant in the 20th Century.

Tickets are $30, available at Vicky’s Fabrics, Kapa’a, or call Iwalani Dawbarn at 652-4497.  The viewing will benefit Mālie Foundation and support Hawaiian cultural events.

Click here for information about this event or the upcoming Sept. 16-22 Kaua’i Mokihana Festival or call Maka Herrod at 808-651-1868.

This Mālie Foundation fundraising event is sponsored in part by Hawaiian Airlines and Aston Hotels & Resorts.