Art planted the first seed of The Outdoor Circle in May 1894. On a dusty street in downtown Honolulu, King's Art Store had an art show for local artists. Most of the artists' work included familiar scenes of the natural beauty of our islands, including the mountains, sea, flowers and of course the everyday street scenes of our Island life. All were quite surprised and delighted at the beauty. The Kilohana Art League was formed, with "circles" devoted to various art forms, the last organized "circle" being The Outdoor Circle for the purpose of "preserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the Island." So, in 1912, seven dedicated women formed a "circle" to promote the beautification of Hawaii. In one year the circle swelled to 30. Today, 87 years later, The Outdoor Circle has more than 3,500 members and 13 branches on all Islands. We are the oldest environmental organization in Hawaii working as a "non-profit volunteer organization."

Outdoor Circle's maiden project was the planting of monkey-pod trees in A'ala Park "to shade the children's play space," this being the City's first playground. Today, dozens of playgrounds are shaded as a result of The Outdoor Circle's plantings. Thousands of trees and ornamental shrubs line numerous streets around our Island, again thanks to The Outdoor Circle. Our mission statement is "To keep Hawaii Clean, Green & Beautiful."

The North Shore branch of The Outdoor Circle is now 12 years old, currently has about 125 members, and has had some of the best fundraising "events" on the North Shore, which have enabled us to make generous donations to many beautification projects on the North Shore. This year we are a proud to be a sponsor of the second annual Hale'iwa Arts Festival. Our most ambitious project to date has been the creation of a "linear park", an enormous community effort to plant and maintain the 3.5 mile Ke Ala Pupukea Bike Path.

We invite you to join us at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, July 18, 1999 on the HECO Performing Arts Stage when we present our beautification awards.