Lei for peace to be presented Saturday in Las Vegas
They’ve spent two days planning and praying. Now they’re ready to share.
Hawaii’s “Lei of Aloha for World Peace” — and representatives of the more than 500 volunteers who created it — will present sections of a 2-mile-long woven ti-leaf lei at two memorial sites created to honor victims of the Oct. 1 Route 91 Harvest music festival attack.
They’re also expected to share the lei, and its spirit of aloha, in the lobby of the Mandalay Bay resort, where the shooting rampage began.
“They’re hurting right now and they need a hug from everybody,” organizer Ron Panzo said of casino employees he hoped would “feel the blessing of Hawaii” during the presentation.
“Lei of Aloha” ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign on the Strip, where part of the lei will be placed among memorial crosses.
Following a noon gathering at Mandalay Bay, presentations will conclude at the Downtown Las Vegas community healing garden. Hundreds of cards sent in a “Letters of Love” campaign will be tied to a special lei commemorating Las Vegas’ status as Hawaii’s “Ninth Island.”
Spiritual leader Lehua Kekahuna, who will preside at the ceremonies, predicted “what we experience (Saturday) will be very heavy,” she told a group gathered Friday at Las Vegas’ Tevakanui Polynesian Dance Studio to hear plans for the lei presentations.
“We think of the living,” she said, “but there are spirits still flying around unsettled. Every day there’s fear, fear in our hearts. We need to stand up. If we do not, how can we set these spirits free and help families to heal?”
Contact Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.
