The COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from hosting in-person Honolulu Pride celebrations in 2020 and 2021, but our virtual programming engaged our community across the islands with messages of hope, pride and resilience.
A highlight of these projects (which included Coming Out Stories, Virtual Pride After Parties, Faces of Pride and Tiny Floats), Shaka and Shine were two prime-time broadcast programs on KHON2. They featured profiles of neighbor island Pride celebrations, MVPFAFF/LGBTQ+ trailblazers, musical performances and more. Take a look, and Shaka and Shine.
2021 Shaka And Shine — hosted by Cocoa Chandelier and Ākea Kahikina—premiered on KHON2 on October 15. Learn about the MVPFAFF/LGBTQ+ communities on neighbor islands, and Hawaiʻi’s MVPFAFF/LGBTQIA+ trailblazers like the drag artists family Party Monsters Haus, HHHRC outreach workers Maddelynn Sesepasara and Shalani Dante, and long-time couple and design partners Jim Corry and Evans Siskel.
Our inaugural Shaka And Shine in 2020 was hosted by Francine Naoko Beppu and Matty Guevara and featured an original new song “Shaka and Shine” performed by Keilana. The show profiled trailblazers like Keala Kennelly and Anna Mei, and explored the history of MVPFAFF/LGBTQ+ and māhū culture in Hawaiʻi, sharing diverse voices on what “Aloha, With Pride” truly means.
Special thanks to lei culture / NMG Network, Rainbows Over Waikiki Presenting Sponsor Hawaiian Airlines and our Visionary Sponsors Bank of Hawaiʻi, Alaska Airlines, First Hawaiian Bank, KHON2 and American Savings Bank for making these programs possible.