Being part of Lei Court is a family tradition for Puamana Garcia, who was named Lei Queen in February. More than a decade earlier, in 2014, her mother, Louise Alina, was also crowned Lei Queen.
Garcia started experimenting with making lei at her grandmother’s house in Kaimukī when she was about 8 years old, she told Aloha State Daily.
“I would just be outside early in the morning playing on her mango tree, and she had growing in her yard pīkake and pakalana,” Garcia said. “I would pick these flowers because I just always loved flowers. And my grandma was the one who taught me how to kui a lei.”
She also remembers being at her tūtū’s house in Kāneʻohe, where there were different varieties of plumerias, and her mother and tūtū would help her transform the flowers into lei.
Now, it is a tradition Garcia continues with her own grandkids. This week, she will be taking the lei-making tradition to an even larger audience as part of celebrations for Lei Day.
The Lei Court represents the City and County of Honolulu during events such as Lei Day, which is this Friday, May 1, at Kapiʻolani Regional Park. There will be free lei-making workshops, a lei contest where community members share their artistry, and live music and hula performances. After the competition, lei from the contest will be placed on the graves of the aliʻi at Mauna ‘Ala and Kawaiāha‘o Church as part of the closing ceremony on Saturday, May 2. Details.
During the Lei Court selection, which was held Saturday, Feb. 28, at Mission Memorial Auditorium, Garcia surprised her mother in the audience with a hula dedicated to her late father. She chose the song “He Pua Wehiwa,” by Palani Vaughan, which speaks about the ʻōhiʻa tree, which she interpreted as her father, and the lehua blossom, which she interpreted as her mother.
“My father recently passed,” she said. “I knew that I felt my father watching over me.”
During the contest, she also made a lei in front of the judges and spoke in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.
For Garcia, the scent of the plumeria lei represents Lei Day.
“Our mana that we put into the lei is very meaningful,” she said. “So when we share a lei — and put it on someone — we see their happy face. And that to me is the spirit of aloha. When we make the lei and we share the lei.”
She remembers plumeria lei being especially popular when she was growing up.
“Nowadays, we have so much flowers that everyone uses, even in a lei — gardenia, ‘a‘aliʻi,” she said. “But the plumeria was from when I was born, which was the main flower back then.”
Lei Day celebrations, hosted by the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation, will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, May 1, at Kapiʻolani Regional Park.
Ready to make more plans for Lei Day on Oʻahu? Check out ASD’s guide for 10 things to do for Lei Day 2026.
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
