Everyone invited to Hanamatsuri

Everyone invited to Hanamatsuri

LIHUE — When Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami issued a proclamation on Tuesday announcing the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, no one in the audience remembered the last time Hanamatsuri festivities were held at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall. “This is new,” said the Rev. Tomo Hojo of the West Kauai Hongwanji Mission. “All these years, the Kauai Buddhist Council have hosted Hanamatsuri at the Hanapepe Soto Zen Temple, or at the different hongwanji …