ALOHA, 'OHANA! WELCOME HOME
"Preserving the legacy of the Polynesian Cultural Center and connecting its 'ohana - past and present"
"Preserving the legacy of the Polynesian Cultural Center and connecting its 'ohana - past and present"
"...Since the Polynesian Cultural Center opened 60-plus years ago, thousands of employees have welcomed millions of visitors to this special place. We wouldn’t exist today without everyone’s kōkua..."
When 22-year-old Josephine St. John left her home in Labasa, Fiji, to begin her studies at BYU–Hawaiʻi, she thought she was simply chasing a dream of higher education. What she didn’t know was that her arrival would be captured on camera and later featured in Sharing Aloha—a 95-minute documentary unveiling the behind-the-scenes world of the Polynesian Cultural Center.
From her family in Fiji selling palusami and root crops cooked in a traditional lovo to raise her airfare, to learning how to balance studies with PCC work, Josephine’s story embodies sacrifice, resilience, and the power of shared culture. Sharing Aloha not only follows her journey but also shines a light on how the PCC preserves Polynesian traditions while providing life-changing opportunities for students like Josephine.
Premiere for general audiences: Friday, Aug. 29 - Consolidated Theatres at Ward
Learn more & watch the trailer:
Help us piece together our shared history—one photo at a time.
Celebrating our rich Cultures, History and Legacy
Many of our kūpuna are no longer with us, but their legacy lives on . . . and our voyage of faith continues to bless the lives of today’s young PCC employees and all the guests who grace these grounds.
Join our ʻohana as we discover the rest of the story through unforgettable titles like The Polynesian Cultural Center: Ambassador to the World and Miracle in the Pacific.
Browse, read, and be inspired.
Step into Legacy Reads, our virtual book nook filled with page-turning treasures! From stunning photography and personal stories to powerful historical accounts of the birth and growth of the Polynesian Cultural Center, these books testify to the spirit of aloha, faith, perseverance, and cultural pride that define its amazing journey from swamp land to a living history museum.
We proudly dedicate this new online historical website to the memory and indefatigable efforts of the late Tausilinuʻu “Uncle David” Hannemann.
” …had a lifelong passion for collecting memorabilia, a lot of which formed a significant part of the Centerʻs mountainous archives .”
“He kept his secretaries busy, and in later years, also used several senior service missionaries simultaneously to help compile, maintain, digitize and preserve the materials he collected.”
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business inducts President David O. McKay to the Hawaii Hospitality Hall of Fame
