Pursuits: Butterflies Are Free
Meet Darlene Loo-McDowell, whose business Sharing the Butterfly Experience allows people to celebrate new beginnings.
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
Darlene Loo-McDowell’s business, Sharing the Butterfly Experience, does just that, allowing people to purchase stunning butterflies to release at weddings, celebrations of life, birthdays, after the birth of a baby or for any occasion. Loo-McDowell, who raises the butterflies at her Makakilo home, says the colorful insects that transform from caterpillars are symbolic of a fresh start.
“Butterflies go through a metamorphosis, much like we do in life,” she says. “It’s new beginnings—the time when you are ready to turn the page to the next step in life.”
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Loo-McDowell’s endeavor started with her just being curious about whether butterflies would come to her garden if she had a milkweed plant. She bought one, and before long, caterpillars began feasting on it. After the chrysalis stage, the caterpillars blossomed into gorgeous monarch butterflies, which now flutter around her yard year-round. Since 2016, she’s been raising thousands of butterflies every year, a passion she says is as therapeutic for her as it is for those who set them free.
sharingthebutterflyexperience.com, @sharingthebutterflyexperience
