ADVANCEMENT CEREMONIES

Since this theme has not be used many times before, there is not a large amount of material to be found.  So be sure to check your Cub Scout Program Helps for more ideas.  If you do not have a copy, it is available on line at
http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/34304/index.jsp

Also, your RT Commissioner has theme related ideas from the CS RT Planning Guide.

Hawaiian Traditions Ceremony
San Gabriel Valley-Long Beach Area-Laguna Hills Councils
St Louis Area Council

With minor changes this ceremony can be used for Opening, Closing or Advancement.  For advancement, give out rank awards after each definition, creating a segue from the definition to something pertinent to the badge being awarded.  (e.g. for Aloha you could say the Bobcat Badge is how we say hello to all new Cub Scouts.)

Personnel: Master of ceremonies, conch shell blower (optional), six Cub Scouts, someone to operate a tape player.

Equipment: Tropical plants, tiki torches (improvised imitations for indoors); headdress and lei for the master of ceremonies; a shell or flower lei for each adult participant; conch shell; Hawaiian music and tape player; cards printed with the Hawaiian words; and for each person being recognized, a certificate or award and a flower or paper lei.

Arrangement: The torches on stage are lighted, and the house lights are turned down. Soft Hawaiian music playing in the background fades out. Three blasts of the conch shell start the ceremony; then the shell is blown four more times. The first blast is made facing east. Then there is a slight pause, and a chant may be performed. The second blast on the conch shell is made facing west. Then there is another pause, and another chant may be performed. The third blast is made facing south, and another pause is allowed. The fourth blast of the conch shell is made facing north.

Master Of Ceremonies (MC): (Addresses the audience in the traditional greeting style.) Aloha! Welcome to our (month) pack meeting. Traditional Hawaiian family life has many of the same ideals as Cub Scouting.

(Enter first Cub Scout) carrying a card with the word ALOHA on it.

MC: Aloha has many meanings: love, affection, compassion, mercy, pity, kindness, charity, hello, good-bye, alas, and regards. The Hawaiian family provides a ready source of love, affection, kindness, courtesy, and hospitality. In Hawaii, aloha is shown and given not only to family members but to all who visit.

Enter second Cub Scout carrying a card with the word IKE on it.

MC: Ike means to recognize everyone as a person. Everyone needs to be recognized, especially children. Ike can be given in a number of ways. It can be a look, a word, a touch, a hug, a gesture, and even a scolding. Children need to give ike to each other, so if the teacher demonstrates the giving of ike then the children will follow the example.

Enter third Cub Scout carrying a card with the word KOKUA on it.

MC: Kokua, which means help, was an important part of every household in old Hawaii. Every member helped get the work done. They did not have to be asked to kokua. They helped whenever they saw help was needed.

Enter fourth Cub Scout carrying a card with the word KULEANA on it.)

MC: Kuleana. One of the most important kuleana, or responsibilities, of every family member was to maintain acceptable standards of behavior. Attention-seeking behavior was frowned upon, and respect for social rank and seniority was a must. Each person was taught what was acceptable and not acceptable. He or she learned to accept and carry out his or her kuleana, or responsibilities, willingly.

Enter fifth Cub Scout carrying a card with the word LAULIMA on it.)

MC: Laulima means many hands. Everyone in the family, the ohana, shared the workload. Whether it was planting, building a house or a fishpond, preparing a meal or fishing, each person did a share of the work to get it done, If a man wanted a house built, his ohana, his family, willingly came to help. They gathered the building materials, built the foundation, put up the frame, and installed the thatched roof.

They also gathered the pili grass and other thatching materials. Children helped in whatever way they could. This kind of laulima made the work easier and more enjoyable.

Enter sixth Cub Scout carrying a card with the word LOKAHI on it.

MC: Lokahi means harmony and unity. The family considered lokahi very important, not only with people but also with the universe. The members of the family showed this in their daily living by sharing goods and services with each other. The ohana, or family members, generously gave to others no matter how little they had themselves.  Strangers were greeted with aloha and invited to come in and partake of food. Anyone visiting another area took food or a gift as a symbol of hospitality. They established lokahi with the universe by observing the law of daily living, which included homage to the gods. This kind of behavior nurtured harmony in the family-lokahi in the ohana.

(During the awards and recognition portions of the program, leis are presented in addition to the badges or certificates.)

(Four blasts of the conch shell are repeated.  This time the directions change: first to the north, second to the south, third to the west, and fourth to the east. Another version is three blasts: one to the mountains, one to the land, and the third to the sea.)

This concludes our meeting. Mahalo-thank you-for your attendance. Aloha.

Volcano Message
St Louis Area Council

Materials: A volcano (large bowl wrapped in colored tissue paper), a secret message for each advancing boy (see the Wolf Cub Scout Book for secret message writing), light bulb heat source to reveal the message disguised in the volcano.

Another thought - I think I would build my volcano around the light bulb.  Then I would have the secret message revealed by having the Cubs hold the message over the heat and warmth (light bulb) of the volcano.  Perhaps have a different message for each rank.  CD

Cubmaster: (Puts the paper over the volcano and tells everyone that the light represents the spirit of Scouting and calls each boy and his parents forward and asks each boy to say what he liked best about his recent achievements, Cub Scouts, or  advancement.(Choose one, don’t confuse the boys) 

Cubmaster presents parents with awards who then give awards to the boys.

The message is now readable.

Have boys read it aloud. It could say something like: “Way to go!”  “Congratulations on your Bear Badge!” “I knew you could do it.”

Palm Tree Advancement
Baltimore Area Council

Make a cardboard palm tree trunk. (If you have a source, the cardboard centers from carpet rolls (that most stores discard) are excellent for this)

Decorate with green construction paper leaves. 

Use brown balloons for coconuts, place Bobcat, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos stickers on the balloons to designate which awards are in which balloons.

Place the badges to be awarded inside the balloons. 

As each group is called forward, pull down “their” coconut from the tree and pop the balloon, and release their awards.

Present awards to parents to present to boys and follow up with your packs traditions and a cheer for each rank.

Surf Board Advancement
Baltimore Area Council

This would be good when each boy is receiving a large number of awards and recognitions (e.g. rank badge, arrow points, popcorn sale participation, pinewood derby participant). 

Each boy would receive all of his awards attached to a cardboard surf board. 

Adult leaders receiving participation patches could receive theirs on a lei, intermixed with artificial flowers.

Luau Advancement
Great Salt Lake Council

Preparation:

• Obtain one lei for each Cub earning advancement or receiving recognition. (There are instructions on how to construct leis in Baloo this month)
• Write the name and a Hawaiian translation name on a card for each Cub earning advancement or receiving recognition. Hawaiian Names may be found on the Internet at http://www.alohafriendsluau.com/  When outsiders began visiting Hawaii, adaptations were made to “translate” non-Hawaiian names to “Hawaiian names” phonetically based on the Hawaiian alphabet and word structure. The 5 vowels a,e,i,o and u as well as t he 7 consonants h,k,l,m,n,p, and w make up the entire Hawaiian alphabet. In the Hawaiian language a consonant is always followed by a vowel which means all Hawaiian words end in a vowel.
• Attach the name cards and advancement cards to a Lei for the Cub.
• Decorate a staff as a war club or staff of office.  A 5’ long pole tied with assorted paper feathers, bones, and anything you can dream up would be great. Make it colorful.

Presentation:

Akela: Imitate a Hawaiian warrior King or Queen with his staff of office moving around wildly and calling loudly O-O-Ka-lay-nay-fa-po-me. Repeat this nonsense phrase three or more times.

Stop suddenly holding perfectly still and knock three times on the floor with the bottom of your staff.  All pack leadership should respectfully come and stand behind the king facing the audience.  They form the King’s council.  The council is silent throughout but does all the presentations for the King.  They are his eyes, ears, and hands.

Wait until it is quiet and the pack leaders are ready, then using an authoritative solemn voice announce, “This Luau is being held to celebrate the achievements of our growing Cub Scout warriors.  You have each earned your warrior name.  Come forth as I call you and escort your parents to the King's council.”  Call out each Cub earning new rank.  The Cub escorts his parents to stand between the King and his council facing the audience. 

The King’s council members (den leaders) pick the prepared Leis for the Cubs in their den.  Facing the audience the king calls out the names of the cubs and announces their Hawaiian names to the audience.  Instruct all to call each Cub by his Hawaiian warrior name for the rest of the night. The king then faces his council and presents the cub by his warrior name and declares that he is worthy to be accepted into fellowship the [Rank the cub has earned.] 

The Den Leader presents the lei (which has all the boy’s awards attached to it) to the Cub’s parent.  The king directs the parent to place the lei over the Cub's neck.  The king explains giving someone a lei symbolizes the love, affection, and respect you have for the person you are giving the lei to.  Having a lei exchange is a beautiful way to express your love Hawaiian style. It is customary to give a kiss on the cheek when adorning someone with a lei. Tell them, "You are welcome to honor this tradition if you wish."