Notable News, Events & Efforts in Clark County
JULY 2022
This month Clark County will welcome thousands of visitors from all
over the world to the 20th annual 4 Days of Aloha event at Clark College and Esther Short Park. The event was founded by the late Deva Yamashiro and others who wanted to preserve their native Hawaiian culture while living in the Pacific Northwest. “It’s easy to culturally disconnect from the Hawaiian culture and customs when you move away,” says Kaloku Holt, Yamashiro’s son and current executive director of Ke Kukui Foundation, the nonprofit that produces 4 Days of Aloha each year. “The group of founders wanted to keep the community connected through the arts and by bringing the aloha spirit to the community.” With humble beginnings of just two hula teachers and one arts and craft kumu (master teacher) from Hawaii, the event soon outgrew their original venue and was moved to Clark College, where workshops are now held, and Esther Short Park where the festival, live music and entertainment, vendors, activities, plus a 5K and 10K run take place.
Over 180
young entrepreneurs and their families braved the pouring rain on June 4 to participate in this year’s Junior Market, a culminating event in Greater Vancouver Chamber’s Lemonade Day initiative. Kids age 6-16 from all 23 zip codes in Clark County sold wares such as art, jewelry, toys and toiletries at the market. This was after after participating in Lemonade Day, a program that guides youth through the process of making a business plan, developing a budget and deploying a strategy for selling their product of choice, with the help of mentors. After completing the preparatory course, kids brought all of their newfound knowledge to bear at the main event: selling to real customers at the
This year’s 4 Days of Aloha event will kick off Thursday, July 21 with a free Pāʻina (Hawaiian style party) at Clark College Gaiser Hall 6-9:30 pm, with paid/ticketed events like hula and craft workshops, a Concert in the Park, Run 4 Aloha and Celebration of Cultures happening throughout the weekend. For a full schedule of events and to purchase tickets, go to 4daysofaloha.com. 4 Days of Aloha kicks off July 21.
Photos courtesy of Ke Kukui Foundation.
After a two-year absence due to COVID, iStem Academy is reopened and reimagined as a space for kids to discover and explore the sciences. Previously an after-school program held at several schools in Camas School District, iStem now has its own private, dedicated space on 192nd Ave. in Camas, full of microscopes, computers, a 3D printer, a telescope and other tools ready to be employed. iStem founder Jenel Cohen says she has always loved learning, but that when she was young, “it was more difficult for girls to be in the sciences.” So she turned to languages, joining the military after high school and working in language interpretation. In college, she learned the language of code as she studied digital technology and culture. Now, she speaks the language of discovery, by developing curricula that encourages young people to create through exploring the natural and digital worlds. “My philosophy is that art is in every part of [the sciences],” she says. “Art is informed by the sciences, and sciences inform art. It’s kind of circular in that way.”
8
Vancouver Family Magazine • www.vancouverfamilymagazine.com • July 2022
