Volunteers present lei to honor Las Vegas shooting victims
They formed a straight, silent line. Each wore a ribbon fastened to their clothing with a safety pin. On their right shoulders they carried part of a 2-mile-long ti-leaf lei from Hawaii.
The 100 volunteers from Las Vegas and Hawaii gathered Saturday morning near the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign to present the lei and honor the victims of the Route 91 Harvest festival shootings. Afterward, they traveled to the lobby of Mandalay Bay and the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden, leaving portions of the lei there, too.
The effort was organized by Maui restaurant owner Ron Panzo, who formed the group “Lei of Aloha for World Peace” after the Bataclan nightclub attack in Paris in 2015. Since then, the group has made similar offerings to Orlando’s Pulse nightclub and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C. during the 2017 Women’s March.
Kawika Sabado, a volunteer who flew to Las Vegas early Thursday to help present the lei, instructed volunteers on how to conduct themselves during the ceremony as they prepared in an adjacent parking lot.
“No waving. No chewing gum,” Sabado said. “In other words, honor the people who have passed … The lei is very powerful. You will feel it. But remember the one thing we are here (to do) is honor these people.”
Sabado and Panzo led the march from the lot and across the street, followed by spiritual leader Lehua Kekahuna and the lei-carrying volunteers. Members of several Hawaiian motorcycle clubs with chapters in Las Vegas directed traffic as volunteers carried the lei across the street.
The normally chatty crowds near the iconic “Welcome” sign were quiet. The only sounds came from shuffling feet and sniffling noses. Tears streamed down the faces of onlookers and volunteers as the lei was placed across each of the 58 memorial crosses.
Kekahuna led the group in prayer. Volunteers and visitors then held hands and sang “Aloha ‘Oe” (Farewell to Thee).
“To all those that are here today to be a part of this lei: Mahalo. Mahalo. Mahalo,” Kekahuna said. “This is just the beginning for us to stand all together to start the healing process.”
But the pain is still fresh for many, including the family of Kelsey Meadows, one of the 58 victims whose cross stood behind the Las Vegas sign. Thirteen of Meadows’ family members drove from Southern California to Las Vegas for the first time since the shooting to visit the memorial site. Each wore a shirt emblazoned with a ribbon and Kelsey’s name.
“We’re still in disbelief, I would say,” Meadows’ uncle, Kevin Gaines, said. “I’m amazed to see all of the love and support, but I’m still in disbelief at the whole situation.”
The volunteers then took the next portion of the lei to Mandalay Bay, where it was presented in a small ceremony to employees in the lobby.
Seventeen-year-old Anthony Pfluke sang songs and played guitar as nine Mandalay Bay employees received the lei and delivered it into a private room within the hotel.
“I think we forget the employees that are there, too, how it affected them,” Sabado said. “So we felt that we should at least present a healing lei like this to them.”
The last portion of the lei was then delivered to the healing garden in downtown Las Vegas.
Richard Goldstein of Maui visited memorial sites Thursday and Friday. “The vibes were incredible,” he said during a Lei of Aloha planning meeting Friday evening.
The healing garden “really got to me,” Goldstein said. “You see these faces on the pictures, the signs. It just hurts to see it. … One card got to me: ‘Will it ever stop?’ ”
Contact Madelyn Reese at mreese@viewnews.com. Follow @MadelynGReese on Twitter.