Hawaiian Mission Houses

The Trustees of the Cooke Foundation, Limited are proud to support the efforts of Hawaii nonprofit organizations that provide meaningful programs and services and develop innovative ways to maximize their resources. Through grant awards to charitable organizations, the Cooke Foundation invests in and contributes to the well-being of communities throughout our state. We are pleased to highlight the work of five grantee organizations that exemplify the variety and impact of the projects funded by the Foundation this year.

The Cooke Foundation provided support during the past two years to help Hawaiian Mission Houses create one of their new signature programs, called Cemetery Pupu Theatre, a kind of museum dinner theatre presented at Oahu Cemetery. Each year, a new themed production takes audiences back to our shared history and allows them to “meet” people who have influenced Hawaiian history and hear their stories. The scripts are researched and documented, making the program a dramatic performance of authenticated history. In 2013, Hawaiian Mission Houses created Tales from the Sea, and in 2014, For the Sake of the Public Health, each play presenting the stories of five people intimately involved in that year’s theme. The scripts are professionally written, and the play is directed and performed by acclaimed local actors. Actors stand by the memorial stones of the person they portray, and the audience rotates between stationed actors. Audiences have raved about the unique experience in a cemetery that combines good food, good conversation and good theatre.

More About the Hawaiian Mission Houses