November-December 2011

Novemb er-Decemb er 2011

Maluhia, Hau‘oli, Aloha...Peace, Joy, Love The Life of the Land Pilgrimage to the Sky: Mauna Kea Equinox

The Life of the People Navigating the Universe from Mauna Kea Christmas at the Fairmont: Future Chefs Benefit ‘Olelo Hawai‘i with Kaliko Beamer-Trapp

Trees Become Art with Tai Lake

The Life in Music A Passionate Kanaka: Keoki Kahumoku Jazzing it Up with Gary Washburn "Moonlit Journey"

by Clayton Bryant Young

C ompl i mentary C opy Worldwide Delivery: www.KeOlaMagazine.com

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The Life as Art

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The Next Generation of Veterinary Medicine

Voted Best in West Hawaii 2009, 2010 & 2011

Happy Holidays

from Keauhou Veterinary Hospital Dr. Jacob Head, Dr. Kaila Helmer, Jolene and the staff want to wish you all a holiday season filled with blessings, laughter, love and plenty of tail wags, purrs, tweets and chirps.

808-322-2988 / Fax 808-322-2303 78-6728 Walua Rd, Kailua-Kona, HI www.keauhouvet.com Keauhou Veterinary Hospital is an AAHA accredited veterinary practice located on the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii. The American Animal Hospital Association is the only accrediting agency for veterinary hospitals in North America, and only 15% of all veterinary hospitals are accredited.

Experience your pet deserves, experience you can trust

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Keauhou Veterinary Hospital offers the highest quality general care and specialized veterinary services available. Serving clients from around the Big Island in orthopedics, avian, and exotic animal medicine, chemotherapy, internal medicine, cardiology and more. Keauhou Veterinary Hospital, The Next Generation of Veterinary Medicine.

"The Life" Celebrating the ar ts, culture and sustainability of Hawai‘i Island

Nove m b e r - D e ce m b e r 2 0 1 1

The Life in Spirit: 11 Ku‘u One Hānau ē

My Birthplace

by Kumu Keala Ching

The Life of the People: 17 Chefs of the Future Benefit from “Christmas at the Fairmont” Dining with the Chefs: 22 Years of Delicious!

27 Navigating the Universe from

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Mauna Kea Science and Sensitivity

51 Young Entrepreneurs Grow Organik

From Coffee Bags to Recycled Plastic, it All Goes into Clothing and Accessories

63 Kaliko Beamer-Trapp

A British Transplant and his Love Affair with ‘Olelo Hawai‘i

The Life of the Land: 21 Pilgrimage to the Sky: Honoring Mauna Kea Kuahiwi kūha‘o i ka Mālie – “Mountain Standing Alone in the Calm”

55 Growing a Flavorful Agribusiness: Vanilla Hāmākua Couple Takes on the Finicky Vanilla Orchid and Makes a Market for Hawaiian Vanilla

The Life as Art: 35 Bold and Dynamic: the Art of Clayton Bryant Young Former Green Beret Creates Paintings with Spirit

39 Crafting Papahe‘enalu From Tree to Sea: Traditional Wooden Surfboard Shapers

45 Fallen Trees Turn to Art with Tai Lake and Family Fine Furniture and Art Collaboratives

The Life in Music: 67 A Passionate Kanaka Maoli: Keoki Kahumoku Inspring the Next Generation with ‘Ukulele, Guitar and Life Skills

73 Gary Washburn: Jazzing Up a High School Band

He’s Taken Honoka‘a’s Music Program to the Top

Ka Puana --- The Refrain:

90 A Tale of Two Sisters: Pele and Hi‘iaka

By Dietrich Varez

Departments:

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Then & Now: David Kalākaua’s Hawai‘i.....................................13 Hawai‘i Island Farmers Markets...................................................58 Treasures Grown from our Island Home..................................60 Community Calendar......................................................................77 The Life in Business..........................................................................86

Kona’s Legendary Gathering Place Village Merchants

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Heritage Center Museum KTA Market Longs Drugs Jams World Boutique Paradise Found Boutique Clint Sloan Galleries Kona Stories Bookstore Pele's Hokulele Gallery & Gifts In The Tropics - Jewelry of the Pacific Bianelli's Pizza & Pasta Kenichi Pacific Restaurant L&L Hawaiian BBQ Los Habaneros Restaurant Moo Bettah Frozen Fun Peaberry & Galette Coffee & Crepes Royal Thai Cafe Subway Regal Keauhou Stadium 7 Cinemas Nail Tech Clark Realty Corporation MacArthur & Company, Sotheby's International Realty

Oceanside 1250 Hokul'ia Shell Vacations U.S. Post Office Aloha Petroleum Bank of Hawaii Finance Factors Merrill Lynch Liberty Dialysis Keauhou Medical Clinic Keauhou Urgent Care Center Kokonutz Sports Bar & Grill Sea Paradise Charter, Sailing & Snorkel Tours Sam Choy’s - Kai Lanai

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"The Life" Celebrating the ar ts, culture and sustainability of Hawai‘i Island

UA MAU KE EA O KA ‘ĀINA I KA PONO.

The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. [Its sustainability depends on doing what is right.] Proclamation by Kona-born King Kamehameha III in 1843. Later adopted as the state motto.

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Hadley Catalano • Keala Ching • Devany Vickery-Davidson Fern Gavelek • Pete Hendricks • Margaret Kearns • Denise Laitinen Marya Mann • Alan D. McNarie • Shirley Stoffer

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Eric Bowman • Keala Ching • Ursula D’Angelo WavenDean Fernandes • Fern Gavelek Dan Lappala • Deborah Ozaki • Greg Shirley

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From Readers...

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We Keep Climbing...

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Novemb er-Decemb er 2011

Maluhia, Hau‘oli, Aloha...Peace, Joy, Love The Life of the Land Pilgrimage to the Sky: Mauna Kea Equinox

The Life of the People Navigating the Universe from Mauna Kea Christmas at the Fairmont: Future Chefs Benefit ‘Olelo Hawai‘i with Kaliko Beamer-Trapp

The Life as Art Trees Become Art with Tai Lake

The Life in Music A Passionate Kanaka: Keoki Kahumoku Jazzing it Up with Gary Washburn "Moonlit Journey"

by Clayton Bryant Young

C O M P L I M E N TA R Y C O P Y

On the Cover:

Moonlit Journey, painting

by Clayton Bryant Young.

More paintings at claytonyoungstudios.com

Worldwide Delivery: www.KeOlaMagazine.com

Correction: In the July-August, 2011, issue of Ke Ola Magazine, on page 75, an illustration with the phrase, “Paradise in Your Cup,” was used to illustrate a calendar event. At the time of publication, Ke Ola was unaware that the phrase is a registered trademark belonging to Hilo Coffee Mill, which had no association with the event. We regret the error and any confusion it may have caused.

Send us your comments, letters and photos! We take email, snail mail, submissions through our website or posts on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter!

Editor@keolamagazine.com

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Enclosed is my check for another year’s subscription. I think Ke Ola is outstanding and a sheer delight to read each issue.

It brings back memories of times spent on the Big Island as a teenager and young adult with family and their close friends.

Ke Ola also keeps me up to date so I can “check out” new places, cultural events, etc. on each trip, usually every other year! Keep up the excellent work!

– DP Scully, San Francisco, CA

www.KeOlaMagazine.com

Karen Valentine and Barbara Garcia

✿ Dear Ke Ola,

KE OLA

Happy Holidays!

Kumu Natasha Forsberg’s halau, The Aloha Dancers of Cameron Park, California, with a copy of Ke Ola magazine. website: www.alohadancerscameronpark.com Mahalo to Adeline Penn, a student of the Beamer Family Aloha Music Camp, who sent us this photo.

November/December 2011

he universe is limitless, something we seek to comprehend. We cannot see everything we want to see, so we keep climbing to the top of the mountain, thinking we will see better there and hoping we may find our connection to the great mysteries there.

When we first saw the photographs of Tom Kerr, we knew that one day we would do a story about Mauna Kea and perhaps be able to use them. Tom is a professional astronomer, who publishes a blog, “A Pacific View,” which lets him express his feelings in masterful photography. If one spends enough time on the mountain, one must surely see things mere mortals do not. This is the issue where we get to use Tom’s photos, blended with the masterful words of Marya Mann, who herself climbed to the top of the mountain—not just once, but twice—in order to best share the stories that are woven into the mists at the top of the world. We know there is controversy about the expansion of telescopes on the mountain, and we know the Native Hawaiians have a timeless view of the appropriate use of the mountain. Both are, in their own way, looking for the light. It is difficult to form opinions if we don’t have the truth. Those of us who live on and gaze upon this mountain have every obligation to find the truth, or at the very least, seek the truth through information.

Our goal in this issue of Ke Ola magazine is to bring light to the stories—light and shadows both. Even though words and pictures are limited, might they at least inspire us to look further?

A few comments before you delve into this issue: The Ke Ola magazine universe is still expanding, too. At the completion of our third year, this is the largest issue we have published to date—at 92 pages it is nearly three times the size of our first issue.

We are confident the growth will continue and we‘ll be sharing more and more stories about the arts, culture and sustainability of Hawai‘i Island.

We welcome music writer Shirley Stoffer to Ke Ola. She’s tuned into the island’s music scene, being one of the publishers of www.konaweb.com and closely related to “Konabob” Stoffer, who is about as inside as you can get to this island’s music world. We hope you will see more of Shirley’s stories in the future.

We learned, inadvertently, after planning a “Then & Now” feature about King David Kalakaua during his birthday month, that he was fascinated with telescopes and brought the first one to Hawai‘i. Lots of other firsts for that renaissance regent.

We’re introducing some brand new Ke Ola logo merchandise this holiday season—a collection of t-shirts, hats, magnets, mousepads and other fun stuff. See our ad on page 84 and visit keolamagazine.com.

Remember those Ke Ola gift subscriptions for everyone on your list. If you order a gift subscription for the holidays, you’ll get a gift for yourself! You can call or email your multiple orders to us.

As 2011 comes to a close, we take the opportunity to give thanks to our readers and advertisers for their aloha and kokua. You are so important to Ke Ola’s future and its continued service to expressing “The Life” of Hawai‘i Island.

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The Life IN SPIRIT Here is my place of birth A famous place to me

Eia ho’i ke aloha pau’ole ē Aloha ku’u one hānau ē ‘Onipa’a ka ‘i’ini laha’ole ē I ka nani pili maila ē Halihali ko ka mana i laila ē Kau maila i luna a’e ē

Present indeed is unconditional love Love for my place of birth Steadfast is the boastful desire Of the beauty that is so related Gathering the spirits of places Lifted unto the Higher Spirit

Eia ku’u one hānau ē E ku’u ‘āina Kaulana ē

Here is my place of birth A famous place to me

Eia ka pono e naue mai ē Kaulana ihola ku’u ‘āina ē Pili maila ko ke one hānau ē I laila a’ela i ka pono ē Nui ku’u ‘i’ini i hāpai ho’i ē Ke Aloha pau’ole ē

Righteousness moved forward Famous indeed my land Relations to my place of birth For it is there, righteousness is found My desire to lift my responsibility With unconditional love

Eia ku’u one hānau ē E ku’u ‘āina Kaulana ē

Here is my place of birth A famous place to me

ku’u one hānau ke kahua mua o’u! Pehea i maopopo aku ai ke ala kūpono iā ‘oe inā maopopo’ole ke one hānau? Huli wale ‘oe i ke ala kūpono i loko ou a e ‘ike ana pehea e ola ai. Inā maopopo’ole ka hana, eia ka hana, e kūkulu ‘ia ana kou one hānau i loko ou ma laila kahi i ho’ohanohano ia ai ke ola. Ma ke kahua o kou one hānau, aia kou ‘ike i laila a e ‘ike wale ‘oe pehea e ho’okō ‘ia ana i ke kuleana ma nēia honua. Eia ku’u one hānau ē!

My place of birth is indeed my foundation! How do I understand the rightful path, if I am not knowledgeable of my place of birth? I must seek the righteous path within myself and I will know how to live. If I am unaware of such a righteous way, I must build my place of birth within, for it is there I will give honor to life. My place of birth is the foundation, it is there I will seek my knowledge to live and move within my responsibility upon this earth. My place of birth!

In honor of the many lives that have gone before us which have influenced our present way of living to clearly affect the future way of life. Knowing where your piko (the center) is gives you an appreciation for life. Ku’u One Hānau!

Contact Kumu Keala Ching at kumukeala@nawaiiwiola.org.

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‘O

Eia ku’u one hānau ē E ku’u ‘āina Kaulana ē

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As a courtesy to King Kalākaua, Czar Alexander III of Russia offered his armed Corvette HIRM Nayesdnick for a trip to Māhukona for the dedication of the King Kamehameha statue in North Kohala.

O

The High-Tech King and a Famous Visit to North Kohala military officers. On the worldwide journey, Kalākaua strengthened his interest in all things new, especially technology.

The personal letters of King Kalākaua reveal an educated man strongly involved in the expanding technology of the time, from naval torpedoes to electrical power, telescopes and telecommunications. In one letter, for example, after Kalākaua traversed the newly-opened Suez Canal on his world tour, he congratulated Ferdinand DeLesseps for building the Egyptian waterway and wished the man well in his attempt to build the Panama Canal.

Among the King’s own concepts and sketches were an armored, torpedo-proof ship and an electric-powered torpedo. Kalākaua had the first telephone lines installed in Hawai‘i, electrified ‘Iolani Palace and erected electric street lamps for Honolulu.

Even before his 1881 world tour, Kalakaua had shown an interest in astronomy, and in a letter to Captain R. S. Floyd on November 22, 1880, had expressed a desire to see an observatory established in Hawai`i. His voyage began with a visit to San Francisco, where he visited Lick Observatory in nearby San Jose.

Mr. French of Lick Observatory evidently was the King’s guide at the observatory. In his journal Mr. French noted how interested and enthusiastic the King had been and how he had expressed a desire to bring such a telescope to Hawai`i.

It was not long after this that King Kalakaua expressed his interest in having an observatory in Hawai`i. Perhaps as a result of the King’s interest, a telescope was purchased from England in 1883 for Punahou School in Honolulu. In 1884 the five-inch refractor was installed in a dome constructed on the school’s campus.

❁Continued on page 14

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n November 16, we celebrate the birthday of King David Kalākaua, Hawai‘i’s monarch from February, 1874, to January, 1891. This Hawaiian King is well known as a champion of Hawaiian culture, hula, and song. Lesser known is Kalākaua’s involvement in the expanding world of technology of the late 1800s.

The 1800s in Hawai‘i were years of intense economic activity and significant diplomatic and trade relationships with current and emerging world powers—Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and the United States. Sugar became an economic driving force, and the Kingdom enjoyed free entry of the product into the U.S., thanks to the Reciprocity Treaty of 1876. A flow of foreigners had come to Hawai‘i, many to start businesses, and these newcomers came from all the major nations. The growing population of entrepreneurs and tradesmen had strong opinions on society, government and about how Hawai‘i should do business.

An ali’i (meaning “of chiefly rank”) David La‘amea Kamanakapu‘u Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua, was born into this changing Hawai’i on November 16, 1836. After King Lunalilo, Kamehameha V, died in 1874 without an heir, Kalākaua captured the throne in a contested election against Queen Emma, widow of Kamehameha IV. King Kalākaua made a trip to the U.S. mainland in 1874 to promote the Reciprocity Treaty, meeting with President Grant and even addressing a joint session of Congress. Later, in 1881, Kalākaua traveled around the world, visiting many countries and maintaining contact afterwards with monarchs, politicians, and

❁Continued from page 13

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Unfortunately, its mounting was unstable, rendering it useless.

Nevertheless, it was the first permanent telescope in Hawai`i and it was later installed in Punahou’s newly completed MacNeil Observatory and Science Center during the 1950s. Sometime since then it was replaced and has disappeared, sad to relate.

By Kalākaua’s time, the ethnic Hawaiian population had declined from more than 300,000 at first western contact to about 70,000. Therefore, foreigners became a significant force in Hawaiian business and government. In 1887, he was compelled to sign the “Bayonet Constitution,” which diminished Native Hawaiian rights and took away many of the King’s powers.

Kalākaua’s reign was always an uneasy balance between the independence, health, and survival of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the pressures of westernization.

One of Kalākaua’s major gifts to Hawai‘i was the revival and preservation of oli (chant), mele (song) and hula (dance), and the royal support for kahuna, experts and elders who held the traditions and knowledge of the culture.

The monarch’s popular title of “Merrie Monarch” is somewhat misleading, as it fails to encompass all of his other contributions to Hawai‘i.

Kalākaua was a man of the sea; he had learned early the surfing, paddling, and sailing skills of Hawaiians and enjoyed ocean and seagoing craft, from double-hulled canoes to men-of-war. The King’s own boathouse, Healani, jutting out into Honolulu Harbor, was the scene of many nautical events, including outrigger canoe paddling and sailing races, as well as western-style rowing and sailing. The world-famous annual Lili‘uokalani Canoe Race in Kona is a legacy of Kalākaua’s interest in both the ocean and Hawaiian culture.

Award-winning.

Island inspired.

Late 1800s photo showing electric poles and wires at ‘Iolani Palace.

– Hawai‘i State Archives

On his world tour in 1881, Kalākaua saw the navies of the great nations, and wished for Hawai‘i’s own fleet. In 1883, Czar Alexander III of Russia sent the armed Corvette HIRM Nayesdnick to Honolulu to honor Kalākaua at his coronation. Nayesdnick was typical of the late-1800s’ change from sail to steam and wood to iron. Some 230 feet long, Nayesdnick carried both sail and steam power.

After Kalākaua’s coronation, the Nayesdnick, as a courtesy, transported the King and his retinue in May, 1883, to Hawai‘i Island for the dedication of the original Kamehameha I statue at Kapa’au. A copy of the statue had been an important part of the elaborate coronation ceremony for Kalākaua in Honolulu. The original statue had been lost and subsequently recovered at Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, in the far South Atlantic. It had been

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decided that the recovered and restored statue should be placed near the place of Kamehameha’s birth.

So it was that King David Kalākaua arrived at Māhukona, a formerly active harbor and pier in North Kohala (now a park), courtesy of His Imperial Russian Majesty Alexander, for the statue dedication. By then, the Hawaiian Railroad Company was running 19-7/8 miles from Māhukona to Niuli‘i. Incoming goods, passengers, and especially sugar had made North Kohala a busy place.

Land devoted to sugar in the district would grow to 14,000 acres in the following century. Incoming foreign vessels could even clear Hawai‘i Kingdom Customs at Māhukona port.

Kalākaua’s visit was a huge event for the Kohala community. A special train was scheduled from Niuli‘i Sunday morning, May 6, to transport Kalākaua and his retinue from Māhukona to the Star Mill station. Kalākaua disembarked the Nayesdnick while the crew manned the yards and a royal salute sounded on the ship’s cannons. Locomotive, tender, six passenger cars and two baggage cars formed the train, with Kalākaua and his party occupying the last “special” car. The ornate, teakwood-paneled passenger cars, built in London and sheathed in fine-grained teak, were thereafter known as “Kalākaua cars”.

The royal party left the train at Star Mill and took to horseback.

A detachment of cavalry preceded the King’s party. More than 200 people on horseback followed the official riders. The rest of Sunday and Monday were filled with ceremonies, parties, entertainment, music and dancing. People had arrived from as far away as Laupauhoehoe to honor the King and witness the dedication of the statue.

On Tuesday, May 8, Kalākaua unveiled the Kamehameha statue, the troops forming a guard of honor, and the band playing in front of the statue. Honored guests included the Governess of Hawai‘i, Captain Kalogueres and eight officers from the Russian corvette. Before leaving Māhukona the next day on the Nayesdnick, His Majesty thanked the people of Kohala several times for their hospitality and support.

Kalākaua was also interested in the science of the ocean. When the worldwide British Challenger oceanographic expedition (1872-76) visited Hawai’i, the six principal naturalists aboard were most impressed with the King’s knowledge of the marine environment. Dr. Henry Moseley of the Royal Society, London, remarked, “The King took the liveliest interest in the special work of the Challenger, and was almost the only distinguished visitor of the many to whom I had exhibited microscopical objects during our voyage, who recognized the well-known anchors in the skin of the Holothurian synapta, and named them at first glance.” Moseley’s formal Victorian remarks were a reference to Kalākaua’s knowledge of a kind of sea cucumber (loli, in Hawaiian).

King David Kalākaua died in San Francisco in 1891, while on a trip to promote the Kingdom. At a time when many people believed that ocean resources were unlimited and inexhaustible, Kalākaua understood the connection of his people to the sea, appreciated how it aided his gobal diplomacy, yet recognized its need to be sustainable. He was truly a renaissance King and, in many ways, far ahead of his time. ❖ Contact writer Pete Hendricks at oldsaltp@yahoo.com.

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The Life OF THE PEOPLE Participating chefs and culinary students at the final Christmas at Kona Village (2010). The Building behind them was completely destroyed by the tsunami. At center in green and black shirt is Stephen Marquard, event director.

❁Continued on page 18

Diners graze through tables full of wonderful food. This is the Fairmont’s station in 2010.

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I

t’s the Big Island’s largest Christmas party and it’s all for a good-tasting, good cause. Each Christmas since 1989, The American Culinary Federation (ACF) of Kona Kohala Chefs have worked to raise funds for culinary education while delighting the public with outstanding food and beverages from nearly every major resort and restaurant on the island. What began as “Christmas at Hulihe‘e” [Palace] in 1995 became “Christmas at Kona Village.” With the devastating tsunami there, this year’s venue is the Fairmont Orchid on the Kohala Coast. It’s always an opportunity to dress up, celebrate the holiday season, and taste some of the best food on the island at an incredible oceanfront location while raising funds for culinary scholarships and programs.

The event has benefited many culinary and public school students on the island, and has evolved over the 22 years since its inception. Jean Hull, chef and former cooking instructor at West Hawai‘i Community College created “Christmas at Hulihe‘e,” which took place at Hulihe`e Palace in downtown Kailua Kona.

Ms. Hull’s relationship with many chefs through ACF made the event a major success from the beginning, and the professional organization has continued to excel in recruiting the island’s top chefs, who not only donate their time, but also the food and décor for their stations.

These chefs are happy to do this event not only because they love to serve the community but also because they know what it

Culinary students that created the gingerbread hale, shown here along with their instructors.

❁Continued from page 17

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Many of them mentor and support the culinary programs at both Hawai‘i Community Colleges and by teaching elementary and high school students nutrition and cooking. The ACFsupported programs help to inspire the chefs of the future, as well as fight childhood obesity and other dietary health issues.

During the event’s most recent tenure at Kona Village Resort, it gained huge popularity as the premium event of the season.

Except for a brief break for the year of 2007 (when it was held at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort) it was held at Kona Village Resort until 2010.

Sadly, Kona Village was critically damaged during the tsunami related to Japan’s major earthquake in March of 2011. It is not known if the resort will ever be able to be rebuilt. It was necessary for the ACF to seek out a new home for “Christmas at…?” After considering several resorts, the ACF board of directors and Event Chairman Stephen Marquard eventually chose the Fairmont Orchid and the official name is now “Christmas at the Fairmont Orchid, Dining with the Chefs.” One key bonus to the new venue is that, at Kona Village, the event was limited to 500 people and was sold out. This year, at the Fairmont, they are limiting tickets to 600, but it is conceivable in the future for the event to grow much larger in this location.

Over the years, “Christmas at Kona Village” raised more than $300,000 for culinary education in Hawai‘i. The funds go to provide culinary scholarships to students in the Culinary Program at West Hawai‘i Community College and continuing education for local ACF Chefs and member. They will also help furnish the kitchens and classrooms for the Culinary Program at the new Palamanui Campus in North Kona (http://www. konakohalachefs.org/fundraising.php). The ACF has made a $1 million commitment to provide all new culinary equipment for the Palamanui Campus, which is scheduled to break ground in 2012. This is a huge commitment for a group of less than 100 members to make. The public’s support will be crucial in reaching this goal. In addition to ticket sales for the event, a silent auction and a live auction will also take place at the savory Christmas party. Many of the most popular live auction items are custom dinner parties prepared by ACF Chefs.

The students from the East Hawai‘i Community College Culinary Program are quite active in the event. They act as

Jean Hull (who originated the event), Certified Culinary Educator (CCE), American Academy of Chefs (AAC), received the American Culinary Federation, Inc., (ACF) Western Region Hermann G. Rusch Chef’s Achievement Award at the 2010 ACF Western Regional Conference. The award recognizes a chef who has generously shared his/her knowledge with others throughout the years, and continues to be a source of information and guidance for other culinarians. Hull is owner of Hospitality Consulting by Jean, Kailua-Kona.

Contact writer Devany Vickery-Davidson at pineappleprincess@hawaii.rr.com.

To make reservations: “Christmas at the Fairmont Orchid 2011” takes place on December 3, 2011, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The event is usually sold out, so it is best to purchase tickets in advance. Call 808.329.2522 or purchase tickets at the following locations: Café Pesto in Hilo, Clark Realty in Kona, The Fairmont Orchid, Kailua Candy Company in Kona and Kona Wine Market. Tickets are $75 each and include all-you-can-eatand-drink, a souvenir tasting glass and free self-parking. Special reserved premium seating tables of 10 are $1,000 and tables of six are $600. The Fairmont Orchid also has room specials for the night. These rooms may be booked by calling 808.885.2000 or by going online to www.fairmont.com/orc/ ChristmasAtTheFairmont

These are just a few of the gingerbread hale built by the students. They are exact replicas of the hale at Kona Village, made of 100-percent edible product. Auctioned off by silent auction, all funds go directly to the students who built them.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 19

sous chefs for the culinary teams from each resort/restaurant.

This gives them a chance to work in some of the state-of-the-art kitchens on the island next to esteemed executive chefs and staff. It also teaches them some of the challenges of catering and off-site food service. In advance of the event, the students create incredible Hawaiian-themed gingerbread structures, which are then auctioned off. The students receive 100 percent of that auction funding directly.

Last year they created lifelike replicas of the hale (unique, Polynesian-style cottages) at Kona Village and they were a huge success. This year they are doing iconic Hawaiian landmarks in gingerbread. They also bake cookies and distribute them amongst the patrons during the evening. It is a great experience for both the students and the public to see these budding chefs doing service and preparing themselves for their futures in the hospitality industry.

Some of the participating properties that will be sharing their most special food this year are The Fairmont Orchid, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows, Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Monette’s at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Daniel’s (Waimea), Kona Brewery, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Waikoloa Beach Marriot, Royal Kona Resort, Hualalai Resort, Keauhou Beach Resort, Café Pesto Hilo and Kawaihae, Huggo’s, Merriman’s Restaurant, Eddie Aikau’s Restaurant and Surf Museum, Cocoa Outlet: The Chocolate Guy, Kailua Candy Company and Tropical Dreams Ice Cream.

Several others are awaiting confirmation as this goes to press. ❖

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The Life OF THE LAND Ho’okupu on the summit of Mauna Kea, equinox ceremony, 2011, looking toward the pu‘u, the sacred cinder cones near the summit. A sister mountain, Mauna Loa, lies in the background. Photo by Koakane Green

prepared by friends of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, which conducts ceremonies on the mountain and elsewhere. Blessed by the Ali‘i No’eau Loa, the honored Kumu Hula Paul Neves, they are placed on the altar by Makhtar, a Senegalese disciple chosen by Ali’i to carry the offerings for the people. Every year the Ali’i and spiritual leaders give this honor to someone of good heart, thus completing the closing of the equinox ceremony at the summit.

The ascent, which has been arduous, began ten hours ago at sea level with 40 practitioners now reduced to five, ascending to breathe in the subtle air at almost 14,000 feet. Standing at the summit, each member of the group stands for something larger than herself or himself — for the sun, for the ‘āina, for each other, for the world.

The contingent spends nearly an hour on the top that morning, united by the calling to adhere to the sacred disciplines of the Royal Order and its set of protocols, chants and unifying principles.

“The worship that occurs on Mauna Kea has occurred for thousands of years and has been mostly conducted in private,” says Tom Whitney, a friend of the Order. Recent events, however, seen as encroachments on the sanctity of the mountain — including the proposal to build an 18-story-tall, Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) that would disturb cultural view planes, led to a plan, “Onipa‘a Mauna Kea a Wakea,” meaning “stand fast and resist the affront to the Sacred Temple – Mauna Kea.”

❁Continued on page 22

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T

he Summit Pu’u Wēkiu, Sunrise, Fall Equinox, 2011 – Shimmering in the first light of morning at the top of the world, the sun paints brilliant shades of red, orange, pink and gold on the mountain, igniting the tallest pu’u in all of Oceania, Wēkiu Peak, before cascading down the slopes of Mauna Kea and merging into the ‘āina.

This color phenomenon atop Mauna Kea is the manifestation of the deity Kū, spark of life, strength and prosperity, and accounts for the Hawaiian name of the ridge where the summit rises: Kūkahau’ula, “Kū of the rosy-tinted snow.”

The breathtaking scene illuminates the sacred Hawaiian ceremony about to take place. The mixed group, a congregation of Hawaiians and others invited to participate, gathers around a stone altar, built by Hawaiian practitioners to fulfill their mission to protect and honor the ‘āina Mountain energy has inspired ancient Hawaiian culture—its cosmology, oli, hula and all the arts for millennia. To people like Kealoha Pisciotta, president of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou—a Native Hawaiian organization advocating greater protection of the land —the whole mountain is a sacred outdoor temple, the piko of the island, the umbilical cord where Sky Father (Wakea) and Earth Mother (Papahānaumoku) are connected. This altar on the summit is for making offerings to the ‘aumakua (spiritual ancestors).

This altar on the summit holds fragrant, green offerings to the Akua, nā akua, and ‘aumakua. The offerings, or ho’okupu, were

As the sun rises, a ceremonial chant is offered in front of the observatory parking lot.

– Photo by Koakane Green

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❁Continued from page 21 Reasserting the right to continue to worship, Kumu Paul Neves, a Chief of the Royal Order of Kamehameha’s Hilo Chapter, Moku O Mãmalahoa, writes, “The upper regions of Mauna Kea reside in Wao Akua, the realm of the Akua-Creator.”

The sacred pilgrimage that led to this stunning sunrise moment atop Mauna Kea began the night before in Hilo at the Royal Order’s outdoor meeting space near Puhi Bay, with the first step of the equinox ceremony.

Equinox Ceremonial Opening

Sea Level, September 20, 9 p.m. – The autumnal equinox, one of the semi-annual days of equal daylight and night, represents a perfect balancing of natural forces. “Before you have the birth, you have the conception,” said Kumu Paul, his alert, piercing eyes making his point, refined fingers and palms shaping an open basket.

“This equinox ceremony is the conception that takes place before the winter solstice, which is the birth. The 2011 solstice will be one year before the important solstice 2012 alignment, a new birth.

The fall equinox ceremonies are the conceptions.”

Established by royal proclamation of King Kamehameha V on April 11, 1865, the Royal Order protocols are time-tested. Solemn guards wearing golden shoulder capes emblazoned with crescents escorted the congregants to places in a large circle. A vibrant opening ritual ensued, led by Kumu Paul Neves’ prayers and chants. Four of his kane (male) dancers performed Ha‘a Koa, the Dance of the Warrior.

Ho’okupu were accepted by Kaliko Kanaele, ‘Alihikaua, or captain, of the Royal Order in Hilo, the Māmalahoa chapter of the

statewide group. Kaliko blessed and placed offerings of ti and taro leaf, maile lei, flowers and coconut water on a pyramidal lele (wooden shrine). One focus guided the ceremony, a primary concept permeating Hawaiian culture: “Aloha ‘āina,” love of the land.

The late Hawaiian activist George Helm expressed his thoughts about aloha ‘āina this way: “The truth is, there is man and the environment. One does not supercede the other. The breath of man is the breath of Papa (the earth). Man in merely the caretaker of the land that maintains his life and nourishes his soul. Therefore, ‘āina is sacred.”

The offerings honoring the mountain at this auspicious equinox time were carried in a pilgrimage from sea level to the top of the sacred mountain. The caravan departs to the next ceremonial location.

Shark Stone

September 20, 11 p.m. – The next stop was the Shark Stone at Keaukaha Park near Puhi Bay in Hilo. Kaliko, who has led equinox and solstice ceremonies for the past 15 years on Mauna Kea, raised his broad-shouldered arms to greet the crowd encircling the sacred stone under a drizzle of rain: “Aloha, ‘ohana!”

The group responded, “Aloha!” and Kaliko lifted each ho‘okupu to the sky and around the four directions, chanting.

Surrounded by ‘ohana, Kaliko broke open a green coconut, splashed its placental water over sweet potato and maile offerings, symbolizing the start of a new ritual, and said, humbly, “I need enlightenment as much as anybody. Let’s ask Akua to help us grow stronger, with bigger hearts.”

Naha Stone

September 21, midnight – The second stop for the caravan was at the Naha Stone, a nearly-5,000-pound holy relic of the Royal Order, a testament to leadership, enshrined in front of the Hilo Public Library on Waianuenue Avenue. The Pohaku Naha, legend tells us, is a sacred rock that was moved by the future King Kamehameha when he was 14. He lifted its staggering weight, end-over-end. In so doing, he fulfilled an ancient prophecy that the stone would be raised by the greatest leader Hawai‘i would ever know. He later united the Hawaiian Islands under his rule in 1810.

Pu’u Huluhulu Kupuna Shrine

September 21, 1:30 a.m. – After midnight, enshrouded by mists and waves of rain, the motorcade moved up Saddle Road to Pu’u Huluhulu, a large hill across from the road to the summit.

By this time, 20 or so people had gone their separate ways, leaving a smaller group of pilgrims.

Thirteen years ago, a Hawaiian lele (wooden altar) was built at Pu’u Huluhulu for winter solstice, 1998, the day deemed by cultural leaders as an auspicious time to hold the first public ceremony to protect Mauna Kea. The same day, Kaliko, along with members of Aloha ‘Āina and Mauna Kea An‘āina Hou, came together to erect a lele on the summit of Mauna Kea, and, at sunrise on winter solstice, 1998, ho’okupu were carried to the top of Pu‘u Kukahau‘ula—the ancient name for the summit cone—laying footprints for others, in future years, to retrace.

Onizuka Visitor Information Station

Mauna Kea Summit, in Hawaiian: Kūkahau’ula, “Kū of the rosy-tinted snow.” – Photo by Tom Kerr

protected fold of silversword. The stars are bright enough to light this wooden lele, erected at summer solstice, 1999, by the Chiefs of the Royal Order, Māmalahoa, for anyone unable to travel all the way to the summit.

Enveloped in a womb of a billion stars whispering in the predawn chill, the group encircles the lele, and Kaliko performs his final ceremony of the night, placing each ho’okupu on the altar.

Shining down upon this scene are the Pleiades (Makali’i in Hawaiian) as well as Cassiopeia, the Big Dipper and other constellations that glittered and spread their amiable light in mists of white across the sapphire sky.

❁Continued on page 24

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September 21, 3 a.m. – Rising above the cloud cover into incredibly clear heavens, the next stop was the Onizuka Visitor Station at 9,300 feet. Under the creamy river of the Milky Way, the procession approached the lele built toward the east in a

Kumu Hula Paul K. Neves resides in Keaukaha on Hawaiian Homelands.

– Photo courtesy of Na Maka o ka ‘Aina

❁Continued from page 23 Afterwards, most celebrants drove back down the mountain, leaving just six to rest a little before the last leg of the journey, sunrise on Mauna Kea’s summit.

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Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area Reserve

September 21, 5 a.m. – An hour before dawn, the landscape of the sacred can be most lucidly viewed through the eyes of those who are defining it. Sacred landscape is created, but it is also discovered. It emanates from life itself.

The ancient Hawaiian story of Kūkahau’ula and Poli’ahu, the snow goddess of Mauna Kea, suggests a sacred understanding of the history of glaciation on the mountain. A 400-foot-thick ice cap covered 26 square miles on the summit area, carving steep inclines and leaving huge piles of rocky debris. Mauna Kea is one of the few places in the tropics to have experienced repeated glaciation, especially on an island that lies only 20 degrees north of the equator.

In the story, Kūkahau’ula —Kū, a deity representing the male force in the form of the rising sun—pursues Poli‘ahu, the goddess of the mountain, but is constantly thwarted by the God (Kane) together with frost, snow and freezing rain, as he does not wish to let Poli’ahu and Kūkahau’ula be together. This period of time could perhaps represent the ice ages.

But when the Goddess Mo’oinanea, guardian of Lake Waiau and caregiver of all the divine children, speaks to Kane, asking for his compassion, he finally gives in and lets the two be together at the rising and setting sun times of the day. When Kūkahau‘ula finally embraces Poli‘ahu, her heart melts, the ice age is over, and the resulting snow melt forms the springs and streams that water the land below, providing life to the people and all life forms below.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of Hawaiian cultural practitioners, their version of the deity is being destroyed. According to Kealoha Piciotta, Poli’ahu’s image and bodily form is being destroyed. “They are altering the images of our deities because the pu’u’s are being leveled and the telescopes are being built on top of her,” she says.

“The cinder cones are sacred in and of themselves because they are burial places and make up some of the kinolau, or the divine bodily manifestations of the gods. For example, you can look up and see the image of Poli’ahu lying down. The real landscape is like a kind of sleeping giant. You can look up and actually see an image of a woman lying on a bed of clouds. She’s the woman of the mountain. That’s her place, and you can see her very clearly.”

Near the observatories, the practitioners faced east, with the actual summit just to the right. Stars were disappearing and the light of day dawning. Chanting to the sun as it arose over the vast miracle of life below, they welcomed the first clear, beautiful days of early autumn. It was time to carry the ho’okupu to the actual summit, Pu’u Wēkiu.

Pu’u Wēkiu ~ The Summit

September 21, 6 a.m., Sunrise – The summit ahu, the highest Hawaiian ceremonial altar in the entire known universe, is the sacred piko of Mauna Kea. First light of morning illuminates the peak, Kūkahau’ula, again and again, year after year. The actual summit ceremony is private and conducted in silence, except for the leader, alaka’i, who maintains harmony and focus on aloha.

At equinoxes and solstices, marking natural and cyclical time, the wet crescents of coconut lay among ho’okupu to nourish new growth and regeneration of life on the sacred summit. The dance of earth and sun, in a miracle duet, ageless and enduring.

“Hawaiian people are not alone in these ceremonies for keeping track of the motions of celestial bodies and their relationship to observers on earth,” says Kealoha Pisciotta. Hawaiian ceremony keeps time with vast movements and ancient astronomical cycles.

Light on Mauna Kea

“Mauna Kea is not only the center of Hawaiian spirituality. It is not only the center of 1.8 million acres of ‘ceded lands.’ These are crown lands of the Hawaiian monarchy, transferred illegally to the U.S. on January 17, 1893, and transferred back to the state, in trust for Hawaiians, at annexation in 1959,” says Kealoha Pisciotta.

Can larger telescopes and more development on Mauna Kea exist in balance with the Hawaiian cultural traditions?

“Well, probably the answer is no,” she says. “The no comes not because we’re against science or the university. It comes because we’ve experienced 40 years of broken promises. Their argument right now is that the summit is already destroyed. And so their destroying it further is not significant, and therein lies the problem. The TMT is too big; the footprint is too big.

Enough is enough.” ❖ Contact writer Marya Mann at marya.mann@gmail.com.

Resources

For a visual history of some of Māmalahoa’s activities on Mauna Kea, please visit http://tomwhitney.net/maunakea.html For information on the current status of projects and plans that impact Mauna Kea, please visit KAHEA, kahea.org.

For a report on Mauna Kea’s cultural, religious, and environmental significance prepared

by Māmalahoa and Mauna Kea An‘āina Hou, visit: www.rrhi. com/northwesternhawaiianislands/ maunakea/MKReport.html

Kealoha Pisciotta, cultural and religious practitioner who advocates for greater protections of Mauna Kea. President of Mauna Kea An‘āina Hou, a Native Hawaiian Organization (NHO) as defined by the National Historic Preservation Act.

Makhtar Mbacke, empowered by the Royal Order, makes an offering of maile lei. Unless you are trained and sanctioned in Hawaiian protocol, cultural practitioners ask that you please do not attempt it. The best way to honor Mauna Kea is to make a commitment to protect the mountain, say cultural practitioners. –Photo by Koakane Green

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 25

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The Life OF THE PEOPLE A spectacular sunset atop Mauna Kea with one of the twin Keck Telescopes sandwiched between two cloud layers—one just a few hundred feet below, the other a few hundred feet above. The massive 10-meter diameter mirrors are kept safely inside closed domes due to high humidity and the threat of fog.

❁Continued on page 28 Mauna Kea Photos by Astronomer Tom Kerr

Tom Kerr is an astronomer and amateur photographer who is inspired by the ever-changing light on Mauna Kea. He expresses his personal thoughts on a blog, “A Pacific View.” He is currently head of operations for United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), which is operated by the Joint Astronomy Center in Hilo, Hawai`i. He graciously shared these photos with Ke Ola Magazine. http://apacificview.blogspot.com/

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 27

I

n astronomical time, our sun isn’t very old. Estimated by astronomers to be around 4.5 billion years young, the mighty sun helped spawned the Earth in an astronomical instant, something like 100 million years ago.

Our 100-million-year-old Earth gave birth to Mauna Kea about one million years ago when the mountain emerged from the flank of Kohala and became the tallest peak in Hawai‘i. After her last sulfurous eruption more than 3,500 years ago, Mauna Kea became a shapely reminder of the power of nature to excite, nurture and inspire our human lives.

As a well-cut diamond has many facets, reflecting different colors of light in each facet, Mauna Kea reveals many shades in the range of human endeavor. Rising regally, 13,796 feet above sea level, it is viewed from all sides of the island, inspiring humans to contemplate the light and the mountain in all its moods—from the massive land forms to the magnificent heavens.

According to native Hawaiians, everything comes from the white-capped shrine, the piko, the center.

Revered as an abode of peace in ancient Hawaiian chants and a temple for cultural practitioners [See “Pilgrimage to the Sky, “ p. 21] legend has it that ancient Polynesian navigators looked upon Mauna Kea as a beacon guiding their voyages of discovery.

Today, Mauna Kea beckons us again. An ecological miracle to conservationists who see in the symbiotic partnerships of 3,000 remaining palila birds living among māmane trees on the mountain’s southern and western slopes, the mountain guides us toward unusual adaptations and alliances.

To a growing number of scientists, tourists, educators and union workers, Mauna Kea is the best spot on Earth to view the rivers of stars, the heavens of exo-planets that saturate the firmament.

Everyone who pauses, listens and sees has to appreciate that we are hearing and viewing an interstellar dance, a song of vibration, rhythm and beauty, a singular point in perspective in the evolving cosmos.

Mauna Kea, because of her 320 cloudless nights each year, low water vapor in the atmosphere, and an altitude of 13,796 ft. above sea level, is renowned around the world as the premier spot to view the heavens. An array of world-class astronomical

28 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Subaru and Keck in the clouds

❁Continued from page 27 observatories form a 21st century Stonehenge, the Mauna Kea Observatory Complex, several hundred feet below the summit cone, Pu’u Wēkiu.

Many Uses, One Mountain

Driving from Kona, your ears pop as you pass the Girl Scout Camp, the Pōhakuloa Army Training Area, traversing the dry scrub landscape of Saddle Road, dotted with golden green towers of mullein and sprays of red ti leaf shooting up like sudden fire. Linking east and west, Hilo and Kona, Saddle Road connects the two sides of the island like a corpus collosum, weaving two sides of our island brain.

At the 27.9 mile marker, opposite Pu’u Huluhulu, a Hawaiian shrine holds offerings proffered for the safe passage of all who ascend to the summit. You turn north onto the Mauna Kea Road.

Pu’u – cinder cones – protrude like fern-forested bubbles in the landscape as you drive higher, rising above the dry forests of naio trees and the rainforests of koa and ‘ōhia lehua, entering into the subalpine silversword zone. You are climbing the tallest mountain on Earth. Ancient Hawaiians living on these slopes hunted forests for food and quarried the dense basalt flakes for tool-making.

When Europeans arrived in the late 18th century, settlers introduced cattle, sheep and game animals, many of which damaged the ecology.

Ascending the summit of Mauna Kea takes one closer to the spiritual and the supernatural realms, and because of the extreme altitude of Mauna Kea, it takes one closer to an appreciation for oxygen. Everyone must acclimatize to the atmosphere.

Astronomers, guests, tourists, technicians, commercial tour guides and families of four, if you’re driving up for the day, it’s strongly encouraged to spend at least a half hour at the Visitor Information Station (VIS) before ascending to the summit.

The Summit Tour

On today’s tour, I’m joining backpackers, vacationers from Iowa, and two Kainaliu massage therapists who join student volunteers, staff and a ranger or two who will lead our summit escort. Like acolytes, we follow the educators and astronomers that have a passion for sharing their passion for the stars. Among them are John, an astronomy professor from Wesleyan University, and Kim, a graduate of UH-Hilo’s Astronomy Program.

Someone informs us that Mauna Kea has entered old age, its last major eruption being 4,000 – 6,000 years ago.

“Okay, everybody. We’re going to follow the leader here,” says John. “There should be no one under 16, no one pregnant, no one who has scuba dived in the last 24 hours.” John has spent the past 11 summers coming to the Big Island as a volunteer tour leader.

“We will stay in radio contact at all times. It’s steep up there. You may be very afraid. The roads are narrow.”

We line up the nine four-wheel-drive vehicles and caravan up, voyagers in first gear on the road to new frontiers in science and discovery. We pass through the Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area reserve. At its peak 500,000 years ago, Mauna Kea was thought to stand 17,000 feet above sea level. It is the only Hawaiian volcano with distinct evidence of at least three glaciers in the last 180,000 years, which, despite our tropical climate, sculpted the mountain, carving scree slopes and depositing moraines on their downhill slides.

Behind the Visitor’s Center is a Swiss chalet-looking facility, with room for 72 people to live, eat and work at the summit, where astronomers live for weeks and months at a time. Trucks with snow blades, electrical grids and other support buildings make it appear like a quaint European village plopped down in the equatorial tropics.

The dust cloud ahead where four-wheel drive cars and trucks bounce over 4.6 miles of jagged unpaved roadway, appears to be growing.

Observatory Park Complex

W. M. Keck Observatory (Keck I and II)

While John expounds on the mirrored hexagonal segments raised on platforms around the main mirror, I’m looking for clues to answer questions about how our universe evolved, and Keck I is the place to look.

UKIRT at sunset

The Keck I has confirmed the discovery of more extra-solar planets than any other ground-based telescope on Earth,” according to Leslie Lang and David Byrne in the Mauna Kea Handbook.

Here on top of Mauna Kea, we step out of our trucks and are ushered inside the visitors’ observation cage. A chilly, temperature-controlled dome houses each of the 10-meter telescopes.

At 300 tons each, they require 101-ft. tall domes to protect them.

Each telescope is comprised of 36 hexagonal mirrors that analyze incoming photons, which are processed and sent to the main headquarters in Waimea and distributed world-wide almost instantaneously.

Keck astronomers are right now scrambling to ask questions that can’t be answered at any other terrestrial telescope in the world. What might a once-in-a-lifetime stellar explosion unfolding in a neighboring galaxy mean for Earth? Do other planets in the universe show chemical signatures of life?

The Keck Twins have 10-meter viewing surfaces, which is simplistic since sometimes they use interferometry to bring the two telescopes to work together, and the angular resolution has the power of a much larger telescope. To compare size-wise, the Hubble Space Telescope is a 2.4 meter (7.9 ft) mirror, similar in size to the UH88, now the second smallest telescope on Mauna Kea. The proposed Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will be 30 meters, almost 100 feet in diameter.

The Geographical Summit

The Mauna Kea Handbook states: “Notice the Hawaiian kuahu lele (altar) on the nearby geographical summit to the east. In recent years some Hawaiians constructed it as an expression of their reverence for the summit and the mountain. You can show your respect for Hawaiian culture by not hiking to this sacred place.”

Ma Lalo o ka Pō Lani – “Under the Night Sky” Night viewing at the Onizuka Visitor’s Center, at 6 or 7 p.m., when volunteers pull out the barrel telescopes and aim six or so telescopes at the sky, highlights an already stellar day. On the observation patio, a 16” Schmidt-Cassegrain attracts 40 or so people eager to view the ocean of stars sparkling overhead.

Interpretive guides, astronomy students and University of Hawai‘i volunteers help us find celestial bodies. Here are rivers of heaven, pouring their lighted essence through time toward us, bringing us light from the past, light which has travelled to us from 14 billion light years away. The light is somewhere around 14 billion years old.

❁Continued on page 30

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A circular ring of glacial till, veined with red and rust-colored minerals like iron basalt, supports a spiral of telescopes on Mauna Kea that include high-tech marvels like the 15-meter James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). It captures radio images allowing scientists to look through cosmic clouds and watch stars being born.

There’s the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO), and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), which maps low-mass stars known as T dwarfs, explores galaxy clusters, and finds “hot Jupiters” orbiting other stars in the dry, dark nights. From their 14,000-foot perch, they produce 100s of gigabytes of data channeled through computers and into university labs, astronomy departments and research facilities all over the world via the Internet.

NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) supports space missions and monitors objects in our solar system, tracks volcanic activity on Io — a large moon of Jupiter — maps water and methane in the atmosphere of Mars, and measures asteroid and comet composition.

CFHT and telescope shadows

❁Continued from page 29

Observing Observatories – Looking to the Past to See the Future

In 1968, the Hawai‘i State Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) granted a 65-year lease to the University of Hawai’i on an 11,288-acre area of the mountain summit, which became known as the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. The agreed rental fee to be paid to the state of Hawai‘i? $1 per year.

Two 0.6-meter telescopes were planted near the summit by the U .S. Air Force and NASA, and the UH 2.2-meter telescope followed, producing sharp new portraits of our solar system. Three more telescopes were erected in 1970, and the race was on to build more astronomical supersight atop Mauna Kea. Officially, there were supposed to be 13 telescopes on the mountain. Today the Mauna Kea Science Reserve has 13 observation facilities, each with one or multiple telescopes, funded by as many as 11 countries. It is the largest such complex in the world.

Nine telescopes work in the visible and infrared spectrum, three in the submillimeter spectrum, and one in the radio spectrum.

Confusion over the number of telescopes goes back to when “telescopes had an impact area of one acre and would only be five stories tall,” says Pat Wright, long-time observer of Mauna Kea and owner of Mauna Kea Summit Adventures. “Back in the day, the locals, the bureau (BLNR) said ‘we can limit it to 13 kinds of telescopes like that: one acre each. We can live with that. Thirteen one-acre telescopes.’ Because it was the only kind of telescope anyone knew of at the time,” says Mr. Wright.

Now, the TMT Observatory Corporation has chosen Mauna Kea as the preferred site for its $1.3 billion Thirty Meter Telescope, a quantum leap in telescope design, which would leave a five-acre footprint in the fragile alpine summit zone.

With a primary mirror of nearly 100 feet in diameter, with nine times the light-gathering capacity of today’s best telescopes, the TMT has been approved by the Office of Mauna Kea Management (OMKM) and the BLNR for construction within the Mauna Kea Science Reserve at the 13,150’ elevation on the northern slope of Mauna Kea, an area leased by UH until 2033.

The TMT and associated support structures will make a 5-to-8acre footprint on the mountain. That’s one telescope eight times the size of the first telescopes allowed. Despite the involvement

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A winter’s evening panorama on Mauna Kea— from Hualalai volcano on the left to the CFHT on the right.

of multi-billion dollar astronomical corporations, and despite laws requiring fair-market rents for the use of Hawai‘i mountaintops, all these facilities continue to be charged only $1 per year.

In return, the OMKM, University of Hawai‘i, and Joint Astronomy Center offer free escorted tours, a humble but ambitious visitor information center, and nighttime viewing for the amateur astronomer, assisted by volunteers, Hawaiian cultural specialists, and guests from the island and all around the world.

The TMT, Mauna Kea and Sustainability: What’s All the Fuss and Why All the Rush?

Gemini and summit visitors

This is a key period in the evolution of our universe. Dramatic increases in the discovery of stellar nurseries and new and old galaxies in the last decade — since 2002 when an Advanced Camera was installed in Hubble — have fueled the race to learn more about the stars.

Proponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) believe its powerful adaptive optics will play a decisive role in helping us understand more about how young galaxies are formed and how stars influence the universe.

Free Nightly Stargazing & Star Tours Every night of the year from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m., Mauna Kea Visitor Center conducts star tours and operates several telescopes for public viewing by knowledgeable guides.

The internals of an infrared telescope at UKIRT

Escorted Summit Tours Every Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. Bring your 4WD vehicle and join the free summit tour caravan. Tours go into at least one of the observatories.

Saturday Night Programs In addition to nightly stargazing, regular Saturday evening cultural, scientific, and arts programs are offered.

Call 808.961.2180 or visit www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis for more detail.

price tag of $1.3 billion, more than $130 million has already been spent on design and “shifting of mindsets (to) create positive enthusiasm” in affected communities.

Listen to Mauna Kea, say the kupuna, where we all must stand together if we are to whole-heartedly and enthusiastically reach for the stars. ❖

Resources:

Visitor Information Station: 808.961.2180 www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis Mauna Kea Weather: Recorded road conditions: 808.935.6268 http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu Office of Mauna Kea Management (OMKM): www.malamamaunakea.org Institute for Astronomy: www.ifa.hawaii.edu Reach Pat Wright at Mauna Kea Summit Adventures www.maunakea.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 31

But its location on Mauna Kea, the five-acre footprint on the northern plateau, irreversible damage to the peaceful mountain, have many up in arms. Before snooping around the universe with big telescopes that can kill everything on the ground, they say, we ought to scientifically weigh the relative significance of scientific research, economic, cultural and religious freedoms as well as the wisdom of biological diversity.

TMT Project Manager Gary Sanders claims their Conservation District Use Application and Environmental Impact Assessment answer every legal, economic, environmental, spiritual, visual, financial and cultural question about impacts to Hawai’i Island and that they have funding to move forward.

A contested case hearing with judge Paul Aoki is expected to yield a decision regarding the TMT in February, 2012. After weighing the concerns from both TMT, the University of Hawai‘i and those objecting to the TMT project, he will issue a recommendation on the telescope. The land board has the option of accepting or rejecting Aoki’s recommendation and may reverse its approval of the TMT permit.

The telescope’s original cost was estimated in 2009 to be $970 million, according to Peter Sur of Stephens Media. Now, with a

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The mosaic is installed in the atrium of the‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i.

Photo by William Ing, Hawai‘i Tribune-Herald

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you create. It involves a lot of donating, promoting and communication.”

In August 2003, Clayton’s multi-canvas and textural version of “Pele” was chosen for exhibition at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Clayton has made significant contributions to the Big Island community with his large-format painting located at the Hilo Medical Center and four permanently displayed in the Hawai‘i County Annex Building in Hilo. One of Young’s paintings was redesigned as a giant, glass floor mosaic at the entrance to the $28 million ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, a beautiful and dynamic museum dedicated to the science and Hawaiian culture on Mauna Kea. Also in 2003, the Wailoa Art Center in Hilo hosted Young’s first Hawai‘i show, “One Paradise.” It was comprised of 11 pieces that he designed specifically for that space. “The works were about my emotional and spiritual response to the Big Island of Hawai‘i and

❁Continued on page 36

Life Under the Sea

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hen you consider that artist Clayton Bryant Young was once a Green Beret, spending 11 years in the U.S. Army, you might wonder how being a soldier has affected his art and his art career. The luscious, undulating style of painting he developed while at the University of North Texas School of Fine Arts, compliments of the G.I. Bill, is bold and action-packed. That might be a clue.

Young brought his family to Hawai‘i Island in 2001. The energy of the island added a new dimension to the size and emotion of his paintings—his abstract, expressionistic designs blended naturally with the dynamic spirit of Hawai‘i and the colors came alive.

“We went to Hawai‘i to spend the rest of our lives—have our kids in a healthier environment with traditional values. Like others, we sold everything, I quit my job, and we built a life we loved in Hawai‘i,” said Young, whose works are now part of the architecture of several local, public buildings.

As a kid, Clayton loved to paint and play around with art. “Like many artistically inclined kids, my parents indulged my creative nature until I became a teenager. Then I was expected to seek out a ‘real career’ that I could make a living at.” Young didn’t let that stop him, though. “After 11 years in the Army, I had an opportunity to return to college on the G.I. Bill,” he said. “It was a chance to start over and pursue my passion. It was a huge gamble—I was a single parent returning to college.”

Fearlessly he forged ahead and, since then, Young has also applied the Green-Beret spirit to getting his art out in front of the public eye. The way he charged boldly into the Hawai‘i Island art market in just two years is a case in point.

“It’s true that making a career of art takes work—not just honing your skills and learning art history, but learning about business, marketing, psychology, buying and selling. You have to set about finding and developing the people that want to own what

Vision of the Big Island

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❁Continued from page 35 the Hawaiian culture. The show was received well, it led to several commissions and, most important, I felt a lot of aloha from Hawaiians and the community.”

At the University of North Texas, Young says, he had experimented with many forms of art before honing in on his signature painting style. “In my last year, I concentrated on large-format oil paintings that were strictly about shape, color and texture, as it sets up emotional content. My work is derived from colorful puzzles from my childhood, stained glass, and the influence of artists like Georgia O’Keefe, Salvador Dali, Van Gogh and Picasso. I call it hard-edged abstraction. Determining the subject, then reducing to the important elements, I intuitively break up the shapes and then paint each section from light to dark.”

His monochromatic painting, “Wallflowers II,” for example, uses dramatic light and shadow to represent the forms in foliage without the vibrant colors that one would expect. It invites the viewer to appreciate the sometimes-overlooked flowers and plants. “Life Under the Sea” reminds you of a child’s game of find-the-fish among the abstract forms, illustrating the interplay of sea life in their underwater world.

A Waking Dream

Preparing for his one-man show, the malihini reflected on his creative approach. Adapting his style to the spirit and culture of Hawai‘i was a surrealistic process. “I didn’t grow up in Hawai‘i. I asked myself, ‘Would my artistic response to Hawai‘i be embraced by a culture intimate with the ideas that I was compelled to express?’ It took me six months and a waking dream to put paint to canvas. We lived in the rainforest in Puna. I had all of these canvasses out in the studio ready to paint. I was down to six months before my one-man show. I woke up one night about 2 a.m., with a vision of a double-hulled canoe leaping straight up in a stormy sea. I ran outside and sketched what I had seen, adding in a star constellation—Scorpio—not knowing that it was called ‘Maui’s

Fishhook,’ nor how important it was to Hawaiian celestial navigation.”

That dream image became “The Navigator,” a dramatic depiction in blues, greens, purples and gold, of a voyaging canoe in wind-tossed waters.

“The next day I set up three easels and didn’t stop painting for six months. I was about halfway through the series when my wife Amber came outside to tell me the news that the Volcano Art Center was asking for art submissions. In four days I finished ‘Pele and Lehua.’ I entered the contest along with 240 other artists. It was totally different—made of two canvasses and a textured Plexiglas relief over the bottom section with the volcano representing Pele’s hair. It made the top 60 and was displayed at Volcano House. It didn’t win, but my piece found a good home on the Big Island,” he relates.

After his show, the artist looked for “a place where I could have my other work on display for the general public. I saw a space at the County Annex in Hilo and decided to donate four pieces to the County. I went before the County Council to offer the pieces, and they graciously accepted. The next week we had the unveiling with my family and Mayor Kim present. It was a really great honor to have my work up for everyone to experience. I even had art students from local schools write to me and ask me to meet their classes at the site for lecture and discussion.”

Clayton’s commission to create a piece of art for the new ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center came after he submitted one of the versions of “The Navigator” painting, which included a volcanic mountain in the background.

“All of my commissions have been based on existing work, including the giant glass floor mosaic in the entrance to the ‘Imiloa Center in Hilo,” he said. “When I am moved to create around a particular subject or idea, it is usually too big to be restricted to one canvas, so I usually create a series.”

When the ‘Imiloa Center planners called for artists’ concepts for the building, Young says, “My wife, Amber, found an article inter-

a veteran screenwriter. My youngest daughter was in ballet, and very promising. We were too far away from any schools or companies where she could progress. So we made the heart-wrenching decision to move to Southern California until such time as the girls’ careers were self-sustaining. They are building their own production company and have garnered attention from veteran writers, producers, and actors with their projects. They are currently producing an original fantasy action/adventure web series due to come out next year.”

The artist hopes to return to Hawai‘i and continue making art, he says. “My art work has never been as inspired as it was in Hawai‘i. I have much more

Pele & Lehua

to do. We look forward to someday returning to our home, our friends, and artistic endeavors. ❖ Young’s artworks are in private collections across the Continental United States and in Hawai‘i. Several of his paintings are now available as limited edition giclée prints. They may be viewed and purchased online at claytonyoungstudios.com.

Contact writer Karen Valentine at karen@keolamagazine.com.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 37

viewing Dr. Marlene Hapai, then the new director of the soon-tobe ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. Amber pointed out that my work, ‘The Navigator’ depicted exactly what the Center was about—a bridge between astronomy and Hawaiian culture, celebrating the first astronomers—Hawaiian navigators. Having seen the ‘The Navigator’ in an art gallery in Hilo, Dr. Hapai invited me to submit art and bid for the entrance floor mosaic. I won against 30 submissions.”

Synchronicity continued to follow the process all along the way from dream to installation. “It was a dream come true, literally,” Clayton says. The commission required a circular image.

“After painting a new circular version of ‘The Navigator,’ [including Mauna Kea in the background and titled “Voyage of the Navigator”] a digital image was sent to a tile company in Italy where they cut, partially-assembled, and shipped the 14foot diameter mosaic with 144,000 glass tiles to Hawai‘i. The floor mosaic was then laid with a titanium ring around the edge. What I didn’t know was that the architect designed the entrance with a circular skylight. It was also 14 feet in diameter! We later discovered that we could teach people about the sun’s annual transit of the sky as the sun would align on or about May 20 with the skylight and mosaic, filling the disc with sunlight (provided the weather cooperated.)”

The mosaic was unveiled durClayton Young Family ing a gala opening celebration, and framed copies of “Voyage of the Navigator” were given to Senator Daniel Inouye, NASA Space Center, ‘Imiloa benefactor Dr. Earl Bakken and the director of Subaru Telescope.

“The other part of my dream come true,” says Clayton, “is I was hired to be the Visitor Services Supervisor at ‘Imiloa. It was one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had: to share my art and its relationship to the Center with thousands of guests from all over the world, and to hopefully inspire the visiting school children of Hawai‘i and Japan.”

Clayton and his wife have two teenaged daughters who he says have great promise as prodigies in other creative fields. One is a screenwriter/filmmaker and the other a ballerina in a dance company.

“What I’ve learned and now apply to raising my own children,” Clayton says, “is that what’s really important is fostering that natural gift—the one that drives our passion.”

This philosophy led the couple to make the difficult decision to return to the Mainland for their daughters’ Wallflow ers II educations.

“We only left our home in Hawai‘i out of necessity. My oldest daughter was 15, and being mentored long distance by

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The Life

AS ART

Keith Tallett relaxes at his workshop in Pa`auilo.

Photo by Sally Lundburg

Every surfer remembers that first surfing experience...

hen Bob Russell began as a child, he surfed on blue and yellow canvas rafts along the Kona Coast. When Keith Tallett grew up in Hilo his father couldn’t afford to buy his son a board, so he shaped him a foam one in the backyard. Carlos Kuhn had his first surfing adventure south of Moloka`i, on a racing canoe.

The story behind the legendary water vehicle has evolved, reshaped its curves and lines with time. The history behind papahe’enalu, or surfboards, is as old as the sport itself, and as the saying goes, history does repeat itself. Riding on the wave of the emerging Hawaiian renaissance, the ancient practice of wooden surfboard shaping has been revived, led by the renowned O`ahu surfer Tom “Pohaku” Stone.

Big Island surfboard shapers, such as Russell, Tallett and Kuhn, have all caught Stone’s contagious enthusiasm through their respective encounters with the legendary board builder. Inspired by Stone, each shaper has embraced and developed a unique style while adhering to the cultural accuracy of the craftsmanship of wooden boards.

Keeping one eye ahead, these three have sought to look behind them too, to where surfing first originated, and to carry forth the original Hawaiian surfboard traditions.

While Polynesians all across the Pacific are widely accepted as the first to make evolutionary advances in riding waves and surfboard design, dating back as far as 1500 BC according to the Hilo-based Surf History Preservation Collection, early experts noted in their journals that they considered the Hawai-

❁Continued on page 40

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 39

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ian surfboards -- and surfers -- to be superior to all others. Six-foot planks of wood seemed to be the standard height used among outer-lying Polynesian islands, but Hawaiian boards were made in a variety of sizes to accommodate wave differentials and surfers’ sizes and builds.

Boards were built of three pre-contact woods, ulu (breadfruit), wiliwili (a Hawaiian balsa, used only for ali`i, or royalty) and koa (a Hawaiian mahogany). Sizes ranged from the two- to five-foot paipo (the original knee or/and body board); the alaia, six to 12 feet; and the kiko`o, 12 to 17 feet (referred to as “Duke Style” board), up to the olo boards, 18 to 24 feet, that were carved to be ridden strictly by royalty. The larger boards varied in weight from roughly 77 to 150 pounds.

The physical design and shape of the surfboards were measured by eye and carved by hand, with handmade tools. Once the blank was split off a log, it was shaped into a rounded nose and a squaredoff tail. The blank was then sanded with coral blocks, rubbed with sand, smoothed with water and sharkskin, and finished with kukui nut oil.

Over the centuries, the heavy wooden planks morphed into hollow boards (an invention by surfer Tom Blake in the 1920s) and with modern technology, the transformation continued into today’s lightweight and easily maneuverable foam and fiberglass boards with fins, leashes and rockers. The practicality and allure of shaping traditional boards was, for a period of time, lost, reminiscent only in museums and wall hangings.

Around 2004, Stone began to invest his energy into reviving a family heritage: the traditional Hawaiian shaping practices of wooden papahe`enalu. Russell, a woodworker in Holualoa, had access to koa wood.

“When he was shaping at my house, I began to learn through observation,” explained Russell, who is currently working on his 45th wooden board. “ I give my kumu respect; I wouldn’t be doing it without him.” As Russell went on to describe the details of the grains and twists of the wood, the movement of the drying planks

Kumu Pohaku Stone (left) and Keith Tallett take a break during a workshop. Tallett and Stone recently received a Cultural Apprenticeship Grant through the Folk and Traditional Arts Program at the Hawai`i State Foundation for Culture and the Arts. –Photo by Sally Lundburg

40 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

❁Continued from page 39 and the time-consuming process of shaping a wooden board and finishing it with an oil coat, he stressed that there is a difference between traditional and nontraditional Hawaiian boards.

“Many people shape wooden board, but for example, an alaia is a specific type of board. To me it’s not an alaia if it’s not made from Hawaiian wood,” he said.

Russell has replicated a number of boards from the Bishop Museum collection, designed boards for professional wave riders and crafted boards for collectors on the East Coast. Each time, Russell connects intimately with each one of his boards and the entire shaping process. “There is history here on the Big Island. Writings from the time of Captain Cook talk about surfing,” said Russell, who is native Hawaiian, noting that the first surfer could possibly have surfed at Holualoa Bay (Lyman’s). “Hawaiians want to get into their culture, whether it’s through the resurgence of hula, our language, pounding poi or carving and riding a board. We want to connect to our roots, teach our children. Taking it from a standing tree to a finished, rideable board brings a lot of satisfaction. There are not too many people that can say they’ve done that.”

Following in the ways of his teachers, Carlos Kuhn, who resides in Āhualoa, has many similarities to the ways Stone (and Russell) have developed into wooden shapers. A tree trimmer in his mid 20s, Kuhn carries with him a board-shaping motto, “Bringing the tree to the sea.”

“I first took part in shaping a wooden board at Waimanalo beach with Uncle Pohaku [Stone],” said Kuhn, who became interested in wooden boards after a visit to Bishop Museum. “I like people who aren’t afraid to share knowledge. People who want to see other people strive.”

Studying at O‘ahu’s Marine Educational Training Center, he learned small-vessel fabrication and manufactured molded fiberglass canoes and a variety of custom composite parts. But, after the “seed was planted,” Kuhn returned to tree trimming, the occupation of his father when the young shaper was a boy. He stayed involved, however, with Stone’s shaping clinics organized in conjunction with non-profits aimed at sharing craftsmanship

skills with Big Island children, and he quickly became enthralled with the beauty of shaping.

“Old boards have the most gradual tapers. Some were cumbersome for sure, but others were just the opposite. It had to do with the shaper and his experience in that time. Every board is an evolution of a mind in time. Kanaka had every tool at his disposal and already created all functional shapes used for riding this ocean. I don’t doubt that many would be considered artwork by today’s standards,” he said.

Harvesting the trees he fells, Kuhn utilizes what his clients discard. “We started using our resources to create functional artistry, which pays respect to the skills of older generations,” said the shaper, who has donated eight of his 10 boards, like the one on display at the new Eddie Aikau Restaurant in Waikoloa.

“There is empowerment in giving someone the tools to create something to ride on. You can create a straight connection through the shaping of the board to its life from the mountain to the sea.”

Kuhn has kept a written account of all the boards he has made (as has Russell), describing in detail where the tree was felled, the type of tree (he has also shaped nontraditional boards out of mango and other local woods), the milling, the spline drawing, the rough shaping, the planning (with hand and power tools), sanding and finishing with both kukui nut and tung oil.

One plank Kuhn shaped was part of a dead wiliwili tree that came from Moloka`i.

He finished the board and named it Carlos Kuhn with “Kipu`upu`u,” a name one of his olo he says was suggestboards at his ed by Aunty Linda workshop in Bertelmann. He lent Āhualoa. This the alaia to his friend type of board can Hualalai Keohuloa, be up to 24 feet who surfed the board long and were at Waipi‘o Valley — traditionally an empowering expe- carved of wiliwili rience for both surfer wood to be ridand shaper. den only by ali‘i.

“Surfing wooden Photo by Hadboards feels like ley Catalano nothing else; it takes

A Carlos Kuhn alaia board, “Kipu`upu`u,” made of wiliwili, was ridden at Waipi‘o Valley by Hualalai Keohuloa. Photo courtesy of Carlos Kuhn

Contact writer Hadley Catalano at hadleycatalano@ gmail.com.

Resources:

Surf History Preservation Collection, Hilo. woodsurfboards.com Kahilu Gallery exhibition at Kahilu Theatre: “Contemporary Hawaiian Crafts,” Oct. 18 – Nov. 28, Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Bob Russell poses with his koa alaia boards in his workshop in Holualoa.

– Photo by Hadley Catalano

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 41

a lot of skill, but you are more connected,” Kuhn said, describing the humbling experience. “Hualalai is a versatile rider. He’s in tune with the ocean. In shaping these planks I have made relationships along the way and I get to see the trees make a connection when surfed in this ocean by friends.”

The board holds stories and those stories are shared out on the water, and it’s that cultural sustainability of board making that first sparked Tallett’s interest.

A native Hawaiian artist, Tallett earned a bachelor’s degree from UH-Hilo in 1995 and a master’s at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1999. Based in Pa’auilo, he and Stone have recently received a Cultural Apprenticeship Grant through the Folk and Traditional Arts Program at the Hawai`i State Foundation for Culture and the Arts. According to the Foundation, the grants are awarded to help masterful and accomplished teachers of the traditional arts share their knowledge in a deep and meaningful way with the experienced individuals who they feel are best equipped to carry on the tradition.

Having grown up immersed in the surf culture in Hilo with homemade foam, fiberglass and resin boards made by his father, Tallett joked that he learned to shape through osmosis.

Though kidding aside, the shaper did learn to shape out of necessity.

Over the years, and with growing maturity, Tallett’s youthful embarrassment turned into gratitude as he realized the importance of expressing himself through art and the connection to his culture through board shaping. However, it wasn’t until a few years back when Clark Foam, the company from which Tallett and his father bought supplies, went out of business, that Tallett turned to wood and back to the basics.

“It sparked an interest that I had to engage with the board physically,” said the artist. “It’s a utilitarian craft. I wanted to participate in the grant so that I could one day teach the knowledge.”

He explained that he was first introduced to Stone through a workshop at Pine Trees, a surf spot in Kona.

“He got everyone interested. He said, ‘Here’s a chainsaw and pencil, let’s go,’” said Tallett, explaining that through cultural protocol, Stone is his guide, teaching him the way. “It is comforting to know that if it doesn’t work out the first time, you can make another. It’s okay to mess up.”

Tallett will be apprenticing with Stone over the course of the next year and through the grant will detail a plan to help pre-

serve traditional board building and share it with others.

This plan has led Tallett to find a kindred spirit in Kuhn.

Both have connected over the positive repercussions of providing Hawaiian children with a sense of tradition, perpetuating the culture by sharing, inspiring selfsustainability and not to mention the biodegradable novelty of wood.

“In the Hawaiian culture there really is no word for art. Everything was made for its usefulness and practicality,” said Tallett, a founding member of AGGRO culture, a Hawai`i based art collective, who, along with Russell and Kuhn, will be featured at the Kahilu Theatre exhibition ‘Contemporary Hawaiian Crafts’ through November 27. “When I met and worked with Pohaku, what struck me most was his commitment to passing on knowledge, his openness to sharing the tradition. I feel that for our traditions to remain Historica living, we have to pracwith pap l photo of Hawa ii ahe‘ena lu, tradit an tice them. I believe that io na l w o ode n su r not only should the art fboard.

– P h oto cour of crafting wooden te Bishop M sy of boards continue, but u se u m we should celebrate and give them life by using them and teaching the next generation.”

It’s been a welcome homecoming for papahe`enalu. The recovery of the traditional boards — as art, but above all for cultural and practical usage — has begun to circulate around Hawai`i Island, finding a place once again beneath the accomplished feet of Hawaiian surfers. ❖

For a truly unique experience, visit historic Holualoa Village, rich in culture, coffee farms, quaint shops and some of the best art in the state of Hawaii. Located on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai, it is a little cooler and only a 15 minute drive from the Kailua-Kona coast to scenic Mamalahoa Hwy. 180. Plan to spend a few hours to have breakfast or lunch at Holuakoa Gardens, and visit the dozen unique shops, studios and galleries all within strolling distance. This is a nottoo-distant, off the beaten path favorite, for both locals and visitors for festivals, sightseeing and shopping.

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42 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

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Photos of last year’s events, along with maps and information about Holualoa Village are available at: www.holualoahawaii.com

Saturday, November 5, 2011 Holualoa Village’s 13th annual “Coffee & Art Stroll” helps kick off the two weeks of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival with free coffee samples from over two dozen local coffee farms, each presented on the front lanais of the upcountry town’s historic buildings. Along with tasting dozens of famous Kona coffee brands, visitors will be able to talk with the farmers that actually grow and process the award-winning brews and get ‘farm direct’ prices. The event begins at 9 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m.

Historic Holualoa Village comes alive with the lighting of the town Christmas tree at 6 p.m. in front of the Holualoa library. The 15th annual “Music & Light Festival” features local slack key guitar, harp and vocal holiday music on three stages throughout the town. Just before sunset Santa arrives by convertible and greets keiki from his tent next to the Holualoa Gallery in the center of town all evening. Nearly two dozen of the festively lit classic wooden buildings, many of which are now art studios and galleries, will host free refreshments and holiday specials until the event closes about 8:30 p.m.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 43

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The Life AS ART

Some commissions come from local property owners who request a special piece be crafted from the wood of their own naturally fallen trees. Here, Tai Lake uses a Lucas sawmill (capable of cutting slabs up to five feet wide) on site where the tree came down.

– Photo by Jonah Lake

“Watcher’s Chairs” were originally presented as functional sculpture for a dining set in a contemporary home in Holualoa. They are now widely collected both singly and in sets.

– Photo by Tai Lake

A

t the very top of an unmarked, dead-end road in charming Holualoa Village lives a unique family of Lakes, five in all.

Fired by vision, passion, and inextinguishable energy, this family is headed by internationally-acclaimed artist and designer Tai Lake. He leads the charge as “supreme commander” of the family’s successful fine furniture design business and approaches each day as if launching a campaign for environmental protection and conservation, innovative, unbridled thinking, and artistic freedom —couched in supreme perfection.

Tai is joined by sons Jonah, 28, “supreme co-pilot,” and Noah, 25, “field marshal and tree-cycler extraordinaire.” Steadying the course, navigating any and all hurdles, are wife and mother Mary Jo and daughter Kristin, 23, a recent graduate of Southern Oregon University with a degree in lighting design. In total, they form a small ensemble of enthusiastic, optimistic collaborators, creating an artful, socially responsible lifestyle here on Hawai‘i Island.

fine, precise details reveal that this is the work of an exceptionally gifted artist and a highly-trained design engineer, one who is keenly aware of the finite supply of the natural resource his work depends upon: native island forests.

“Every piece of work has a story and every story begins with the tree,” he says. “The rich history of woodworking here in the islands, the international recognition Hawai‘i has received for this work, and most importantly, the health of our fragile eco-system are at risk without proper care and propagation of these incredible resources.”

They are values clearly modeled for his children and lived large in the many leadership roles he plays to ensure the conservation and preservation of Hawaiian Islands’ dryland and upland forests of primarily koa and ‘ohia trees. Lake is current president of the Hawai‘i Forest Industry Association (HFIA), a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1989 by and for people committed to managing and maintaining healthy and productive forests.

❁Continued on page 45

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 45

“I attend lots of academic conferences, industry association meetings, workshops and art collaboratives worldwide — they all seem to want a title. We’re not really about that, so we have fun coming up with outrageous, whimsical tags,” Tai Lake said.

Tongue-in-cheek titles aside, Lake has collected plenty of prestigious designations over his nearly 40-year career — the past 31 years of which have bloomed from roots firmly planted in Hawai‘i.

He arrived here from the Pacific Northwest in 1980 as an architectural woodworker, turning to fine furniture design in 1991.

Among the formal titles earned along the way: architect, furniture designer, artist, president, advocate, mentor, and, most recently, gatherer.

With just a glance at his exquisite collection of ever-evolving, hand-crafted furniture and decorative art pieces — all created using woods grown on Hawai‘i Island — Lake’s foundation in architectural design is apparent. Clean, contemporary lines and

46 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Creations

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This “Moon Gate” entry was designed for a Hawai‘i Island client who was looking to give their entryway a boost. The moon panels are cut from 1/4 inch bronze and are set into hand-crafted mahogany gates. Clear cedar with hand-worked detailing makes up the surrounding structure.

– Photo by Tai Lake

Tai’s oldest son Jonah assists with every aspect of making the fine, natural Hawaiian woods furniture produced each year. He is also the designated custom-built crate builder, ensuring all pieces arrive without injury to their final destinations worldwide.

– Photo by Margaret Kearns

“As Hawai‘i’s recognized forest trade association, HFIA is committed to the responsible expansion of the state’s forest industry, a $29 million industry. We achieve this through programs focusing on education, information exchange, planning, advocacy and marketing,” he says. Not only do these programs promote healthier forests, according to industry officials, they encourage increased business and more local employment — currently accounting for more than 1,000 jobs throughout the islands.

Lake also manages the Honokohau Project, an effort to re-establish a 100-acre ‘ohia and koa tree forest on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai in the island’s Kaloko District. In addition to enhancement and propagation efforts, dying and downed trees on the property and other areas around the island are carefully evaluated by Lake and son Noa as potential candidates for milling at their base camp in Holualoa.

“Trees are always coming down and we’ve always felt it’s a crime not to make use of the lumber,” Lake said.

Son Noa, who is charged with sourcing and rough milling the wood used in the design workshop, says the concept of “tree-cyling” is just a natural part of environmental responsibility in any community. “Whether I find fallen trees in an island forest or crews felling trees along our roadways, I’m always looking for the potential to use that valuable wood rather than see it buried in landfills,” Noa said.

As a result of a well-earned reputation and word-of-mouth referrals, Noa is often called by property owners who want to remove overgrown or potentially diseased trees. “We can save property owners thousands of dollars in expense by removing the heaviest parts of their trees (typically the trunk and larger branches measuring a minimum of 18 inches and up to five feet in diameter),” Noa says. And while size is important, the type of tree is equally important, he adds. “We look for hardwood trees of a variety of species. Some of our island trees are just not candidates for woodworking, such as the spindly-trunked and branchy kiawe.”

When suitable trees are found for milling on site or back at base camp in Holualoa, Tai is most often at Noa’s side. He explains, “As a designer and furniture maker, I can often visualize a piece

❁Continued on page 49

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 47

❁Continued from page 47

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www.gingerannesandell.com

❁Continued from page 47

For more information, visit www.tailake.net.

Contact writer Margaret Kearns at margaretekearns@gmail.com.

Tai Lake taking a “once in a blue moon” break at his workshop in Holualoa – Photo by Margaret Kearns

“Sea Fan” oval table combines function with movement and beauty.

Designed to create a visual whirl, setting part of the room into motion, Lake used crescents of koa with an ebony inlay for the top; the lower shelf is mango.

– Photo by Tai Lake

Artists Collaborate in Holualoa

Some 20 Island artists, set aside ego and sole bragging rights when they participated in the first Hawai‘i artists’ collaborative event in Holualoa in late October. The inaugural theme sums up the spirit of the event: Ho‘o hui a ho‘opa‘a, ‘Olelo no‘eau – “Bringing together all skillful artists and the talented/wise to gather as a people and stand together.”

“The three-day, invitation-only event gathered artists—all masters in their individual media—together to share ideas, inspiration and skills. We worked together to create numerous pieces of art—all with at least two and in some cases many more artists working in collaboration on each piece—using a mixed media approach,” says Tai Lake, designer and fine furniture maker, who together with Holualoa artist Cliff Johns organized this year’s event.

The completed art is being shown as the “Hawai‘i Collaboration Artists’ Exhibition” through November 17 at The Holualoa Gallery and Cliff Johns Gallery, both located in the heart of Holualoa Village. The art will be offered at a “no reserve” auction during a special event at Holualoa Inn on November 19, with all proceeds benefitting future collaborative events in Hawai‘i.

“Our goal was to encourage artists to venture outside their usual media, working in alternative art forms to expand their vision and skills,” Lake says. “And the concept was to start small and grow slowly over subsequent years,” he says. “This year, the participating artists represented every district on Hawai‘i Island, as well as a diverse range of media from wood turning, jewelry making, glass blowing, hand-painted fabric, ceramics, painting and more,” he said.

The collaborative is fashioned after established events in Canada and New Zealand, and in its initial year was limited to just 20 artists. In addition to the Hawai‘i Island participants, the debut event included one artist from Canada and another from California. Eventually, Lake says, the Hawai‘i Artist Collaborative will welcome artists from throughout the Hawaiian Islands and countries worldwide.

Space is somewhat limited for the November 19 auction event; for more information and to reserve your space, contact Tiffany Shaftoe at hawaiicollab@gmail.com.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 49

while it’s still in the log. This is important because often there may be just one perfect table top in an entire tree; an heirloom could be born if the lumber is handled right. The making of a final masterpiece really begins long before the wood ever sees a shop.”

And these masterpieces are created from a variety of trees, not solely koa, ‘ohia, milo and such, that aren’t always appreciated for their gorgeous wood, according to Lake.

“We have huge mango trees on this island and they most often are simply dozed out of the way when land is cleared. Appreciation is growing for mango, but woods are like fashion and a part of our challenge is to get people to see what they’ve been throwing away. Stunning showpieces are being made from trees that even many natives have probably never heard of,” he says.

A tour of his enormous workshop and studio backs up his words. It’s a virtual art trove of furniture from, yes, koa and ‘ohia trees, but much rarer species grown here for centuries: chocolate heart albizia, Cuban mahogany, kau, coffee, pine and mango among many others. Carefully hewn tables and chairs, chests of drawers and entry benches share the space with piles of unfinished “objects de art.”

With a quick laugh Lake explains, “Oh this, it’s a found object piece Jonah’s been working on for a few months in the minutes he has in between assisting me with every aspect of design and production in the shop. And that four-foot tall by four-foot diameter bowl in the corner, Noa’s been carving that intermittently over the past several years.” He can’t even begin to count the number of personal projects he’s started but hasn’t had the time to finish over the years.

“At this point they’re just ideas waiting to be made real. We’ve had the good fortune of being extremely busy with commissions and gallery work, even throughout this economic downturn,” he says, adding, “We are truly grateful, but we also can’t wait to retire so we can get to work on our unfinished work. After all, making dreams happen is the dragon that all artists chase.”

But retirement remains a distant and elusive idea for Tai and family, especially with the most recent role he’s assumed as president and site manager for the first Hawai‘i artists’ collaborative. (See sidebar at right.) Read more about this invitation-only event, and the public exhibitions and art auction that will follow in November, in the sidebar accompanying this article. ❖

Saturday & Sunday December 3 & 4 10am - 4pm 55 Artists! 15 Studios!

All studios located in HPP, Hawaiian Paradise Park

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For complete map & brochure log onto

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50 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

or call 982-9577

“I originally wanted to develop a biodegradable surf wax,” said Fernandez — who was 29 at the time — explaining he already had the name Organik picked out (the “K” was included as a wink to the Hawaiian language alphabet). “Brian (who was 26 and had majored in graphic design at Maryland Institute of Creative Arts) said there was no money in that, but as a graphic designer he suggested clothing. We collaborated on the image and logo and soon a family business was born.”

With their unusual but easily understood name, the selffunded label was determined to produce only sustainable, organic and recycled materials in an effort to preserve a green and natural lifestyle, well before “green” became a marketing trend for boutique and upscale clothing lines.

“The ‘āina (land) inspired the designs and branding,” explained the co-founder, who manufactures all products in the United States from only organic cotton, bamboo, organic cotton blend, MicroModal and recycled plastic bottles. “It’s more natural here, more pristine. Everything is done very grassroots and that influenced me.”

Continued on page 52

❁

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 51

OF THE PEOPLE

The Life

“I

t was a rainy day in late spring and Ed Fernandez had to pick up coffee bags. Not for harvesting purposes but for his popular organic and sustainable clothing and accessories company, Organik. Traversing through the windy, wet roads of Holualoa, Fernandez checked the mailbox number one more time, made a quick U-turn in a neighboring driveway, and slowly maneuvered his car up the short, steep road to Tiare Lani Coffee Farm. Just as the instructions indicated, the package of 80 burlap brown bags with the signature Tiare Lani name and red coffee cherry graphic were safely tucked in a large plastic container near the farm’s entrance.

The burlap coffee bags, which will be transformed into carryall designer backpacks, yoga and hand bags with repurposed fiber lining, are just the tip of the sustainably-inspired iceberg that nourishes the mission behind Organik.

It all started when a 25-year-old Fernandez moved from New Jersey to Hawai`i 10 years ago, attracted to the abundant beauty and relatively unspoiled existence on the orchid isle.

His cousin, Brian Jones, who lives in New Jersey but owns land on the Big Island, would often visit Fernandez, as both were active 20-something outdoorsmen — into sailing and surfing respectively.

Fernandez, who studied public and environmental health at Rutgers, had Organik founders and cousins Ed Fernandez already started his own company (left) and Brian Jones (right). in Hawai`i—Safe – Photos courtesy of The Organik Food Solutions— a food safety training program for hotels and businesses and ran a successful operation before moving on to work for the University of Hawai`i-Manoa School of Medicine. As their Big Island Project Coordinator, he directed a small team of researchers testing for the effects of vog emissions on children’s respiratory capacities.

Having this small background in start-up companies and a deep compassion for the earth, Fernandez pitched a business idea to his cousin on a summer vacation almost five years ago.

Literally sprouted by the two cousins on the Big Island in 2006, the company, Organik, is tagged as a beach-lifestyle clothing label with a “threads of the earth” concept.

52 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

❁Continued from page 51 Fernandez took into consideration his allnatural outlook on life, intertwined it with the established Hawaiian method of conducting business — one based on respect and trust — and blended it with Hawai`i’s need to protect its land and resources (the fight against pollutants and damaging waste products) to create a sustainable clothing line.

“We took into consideration the overall impact on the eco-system,” said Fernandez.

“We wanted to use substances that were easier on the land and The Organik’s beachbum bag the water.” is made from a 100-percent Kona Coffee As part of the bag from Tiare Coffee Farm in Holualoa.

Organik image (which features a green “r’ as a sprouting plant in the logo) and to preserve nature and green lifestyle, the company hand picks and exclusively uses organic cotton, sustainable materials, such as the coffee bags, and fabrics made with recycled plastic bottles and polyester for all the cut-and-sew pieces. The recycled plastic bottles, or RPET, are post-consumer bottles from America. Eight to 10 RPET bottles are used in the making of one product, such as a t-shirt, yoga pants or scarf.

Despite a higher premium, the company’s California-based manufacturing, shipping and quality control, which Jones oversees, allows the emphasis to be placed not on foreignmade production but on the reduction of the carbon footprint on the planet and supporting local economy.

Fernandez explained how the processing of his textiles remains consistent with his green, natural operation. They use earth-friendly, low-impact dyes for coloring, ones that contain fewer chemicals and no heavy metals or chemical mordant, allowing for better color absorption and that require less rinse water. The designs on the shirts are printed by hand using water-based inks to reduce harmful chemicals from entering the wastewater. Consequently the t-shirts, dresses and other articles retain a soft, vintage feel, reminiscent of your favorite, old-school shirt.

Aside from repurposed materials, other main sources of clothing fabric include sustainable, renewable, pesticide-free resources such as 100-percent organic cotton, grown naturally without pesticides or chemicals; bamboo, a breathable,

For more information on Organik visit www.theorganik.com.

Contact writer Hadley Catalano at hadleycatalano@gmail.com.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 53

hypoallergenic material made from the bamboo grass; and MicroModal, a sheer, silky material made from beech wood.

Not only does the production of the clothing reflect Fernandez’s devotion to perpetuating the Hawaiian sustainable lifestyle, but the clothing’s printed images of iconic Hawaiian surf, sunsets, and animals pay tribute to the cofounders’ inspiration.

Geographical statement designs that aim to connect islanders with the garments include the “Kona Sunset,” a bright yellow sun overlooking a white outline of a curling wave, or “Free Range,” a prominently detailed rooster, an inside joke between Fernandez and his numerous encounters with chickens while living in Ka`ū and South Kona. Other island designs include the “Grass Fed” cow lying front and center on the graphic tee, paying tribute to the beef on the Big Island and “Save Our Shore,” an environmentally-aware design playing on the words and palm tree images.

In a personal testament to the people and lifestyle of the Big Island, Fernandez teamed with online craftsmen and designers to run limited edition shirts whose proceeds benefit a specific organization. After the tsunami last March, Fernandez designed a Tsunami Relief t-shirt for those affected in Japan and collaborated with Ocean Farmer of Kona to design a From Big Island (FBI) limited edition shirt, sold exclusively on island.

Fernandez, though currently living in Honolulu, continues to be actively involved with all aspects of Big Island life.

Visiting frequently, the environmentalist donates and sponsors numerous events and benefits. His recent visit was not only to pick up Tiare Lani coffee bags (of which a portion of product proceeds are given back in support of Tiare Lani and 100-percent Kona Coffee) but to support a West Hawai`i Explorations Academy (WHEA) fundraiser, which this year was rained out due to inclement weather. In the past, Organik has sponsored events with the Surfriders Foundation, Na Kama Kai and the Kona Surf Film Festival (Organik will again be part of the upcoming 8th Annual KSFF at the Mauna Lani Hotel and Bungalows December 2-3, 2011).

“The Big Island has influenced how we run our business and design our clothing,” said the co-founder of his small, hands-on business that encourages people to wear organic clothing to play a small part in preserving resources.

The company is growing. Even so, Fernandez and Jones have kept to their grassroots profile, having sidestepped major marketing campaigns in favor of keeping promotion to social media sites and personal advertising at local events, festivals and through their website. For those conscious-minded individuals looking for Organik, these Big Island retailers carry the label: Divas Boutique, Eight Rocks, Four Seasons Resort, Hula Moon, Kailani Surf, Kawaihae Surf & Sand, Kona Boys, Kukio, Persimmon, Polynesian Paddling Products, Waimea Surf Classics and Yoganics.

For the foreseeable future, Fernandez is working toward promoting his recently launched duffle bag made from sailcloth and a small tote made from Kona coffee bean sacks.

He will be launching a line of natural soaps shortly and releasing a second run of limited FBI X Organik collabo tees (the first run sold out) before landing in Kona for December’s surf film festival. ❖

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OF THE LAND

The Life

Jim and Tracy Reddekopp founders of Hawaiian Vanilla Company.

– Photo s courtesy of Hawaiian Vanilla Company

❁

Gift shop in the Vanillary

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 55

“W

hen Jim and Tracy Reddekopp purchased their property in Pa‘auilo back in 1998, they weren’t sure what they were going to build or grow. The two O‘ahu natives just knew that they wanted to get away from the rat race of Honolulu and raise their kids on a farm. They didn’t foresee becoming the country’s first and only commercial growers of vanilla, single-handedly creating a vanilla product industry in Hawai‘i, or that they would start a successful agribusiness that would draw thousands of visitors from around the world. No, back then they were sitting around the family dinner table trying to figure out what to do with the land.

“Originally, our goal was to raise our children on a farm,” says Jim Reddekopp. “It wasn’t until my mother-in-law asked what we were going to grow besides children that we really thought about what we were going to plant.” Tracy’s mother, an orchid enthusiast, had just taken a course at the Lyman Arboretum on O‘ahu and suggested growing vanilla bean orchids.

The rest is history.

“The idea of vanilla just sparked something in my brain,” says Reddekopp. “I started researching it, calling around to different agricultural departments and groups.”

“Only one farmer called me back, and he said he had an uncle experimenting with vanilla orchids.” That uncle was Tom Kadooka from Kainaliu in South Kona. Reddekopp really wanted to pursue growing vanilla and thus began a mentoring friendship between the two men. “He [Kadooka] always felt that vanilla was a viable crop and I was the first student under him that really took it up. Mr. Kadooka was a real-life Mr. Miyagi (the famous martial arts mentor of the Karate Kid movie fame).

You had to ask the right question to get the right answer.”

Over the next four years, the quiet and humble Kadooka patiently taught Reddekopp, showing him how to pollinate and cultivate the plants.

Like other orchids, Vanilla plantifolia can be finicky and thus be a struggle to grow at times. According to Reddekopp, vanilla is produced by a type of orchid that forms vanilla bean pods and requires careful hand pollination. These orchids bloom only one day per year for a few short hours and pollination does not necessarily guarantee that vanilla pods will form, after which they require eight to nine months to mature.

“In the beginning, people were a bit apprehensive or scared when pollinating,” explains Reddekopp, “but after you’ve done it a hundred times or so it gets to be pretty routine.” Kadooka taught Reddekopp how to pollinate using a toothpick, a practice used in other parts of the world to pollinate vanilla. “I wanted to learn to do it just with my fingers,” says Reddekopp.

“I wanted all my employees to learn how to pollinate with their fingers so they wouldn’t be able to say they couldn’t pollinate because they didn’t have a stick.”

Continued on page 56

❁Continued from page 55

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56 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

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Hawaiian Vanilla Company, the business formed by the Reddekopps, grows their crop from tissue culture and cuttings, a process that takes about five years for the plant to reach maturity. They grow anywhere from a couple hundred to 8,000 plants at a time in two greenhouses, depending on where the plants are in their growth stage. “Right now we’re trying to do some seed germinations and that will take about eight years before we have flowers,” adds Reddekopp.

It took a lot of trial and error to learn how to cultivate the vanilla. “These little orchids are tricky in how they need attention at some times and not at other times,” explains General Manager Doug Sessions. There were times when crops didn’t grow or under-produced. There were times when the plants were watered too much and caused root rot or the plants were over-pollinated and the vines died.

Through those early days, Jim and Tracy stuck to their goal: to cultivate the best vanilla in the world.

The vanilla species grown in Pa’auilo is the same species grown in other parts of the world. “What’s unique about us is that vanilla is very much a living part of what everyone does here,” says Sessions. “We all truly love vanilla orchids.”

Learning to grow orchids was just one of the hurdles crossed when they started out. As with any new business venture the biggest challenge was money. “We are the first commercial growers in the U.S. People believed in [vanilla] and wanted to see it come to fruition so the biggest thing was backing. We received a couple of USDA grants that were vital to our start-up.”

With the vanilla business flourishing, Reddekopp wants others to become successful vanilla farmers. He shepherds a cooperative of 11 other Big Island vanilla growers, all with the aim of promoting an exclusive, high-end, Made-in-Hawai‘i product.

“We’d love to see other people growing vanilla up here,” adds Sessions. “We’ll teach you how to grow vanilla and then buy it from you. There’s lots of land up here, we just need the farmers. Vanilla just happens to be the second most expensive spice on earth and it can be a profitable crop for local farmers.”

Part of the reason other farmers can make money is that the Reddekopps single-handedly created a market for vanilla throughout the state. “When we started we had to figure out who was going to buy it,” says Reddekopp. “We knew we would have to grow a heck of a lot of vanilla to support a family of five kids if we only sold at the local farmers market. Our thought process was that we needed to find a way to create products.”

From the beginning Reddekopp worked with prominent area chefs and well-known, local food companies to incorporate vanilla into their products, thus creating a market for Hawaiian-grown vanilla. Jim first enlisted Chefs George Mavrothalassitis of Chef Mavro on O‘ahu and Beverly Gannon of Hali’imaile General Store on Maui to add dishes to their menus featuring the vanilla beans. Those chefs continue to use Hawaiian Vanilla, as do the restaurants at the Mauna Lani and Mauna Kea resorts. The Four Seasons at Hualalai uses the vanilla all over the resort, from the spa to the restaurants.

In 2005, Hawaiian Vanilla partnered with Maui-based Roselani Ice Cream to create Hawaiian Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Hawaiian Vanilla Company now makes 70 vanilla products that are found in stores on Hawai‘i Island, O‘ahu, and Maui.

Everything is hand packed at the farm. Of course they make pure vanilla extract and vanilla bean. But they also make culinary products such as their lilikoi, toffee, and chocolate

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Contact writer Denise Laitinen at wahineokekai@yahoo.com.

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sauces; balsamic and lilikoi salad dressings; home fragrance; lip balm; estate-grown coffee; black tea; beauty care products and farmand-garden skin care products.

Today, visitors and locals alike make the trip to the Hawaiian Vanilla Company, tucked away high on the mountainside, along the Hamakua coastline in Pa‘auilo. They’re drawn to the bright yellow building, fondly called the “Vanillary,” which sits above the farm. The company offers farm tours, a tea brunch, a “Vanilla Experience” gourmet lunch, and vanilla tastings.

They also offer educational opportunities for those who want to learn how to grow vanilla with seminars, cultivation classes and vanilla production workshops.

Reddekopp continues to build a diversified business based on agriculture and tourism. Yet he has not forgotten his roots. After his mentor Tom Kadooka passed away in 2004, Hawaiian Vanilla Company created the Hamakua Alive Festival to generate money for the Tom Kadooka Foundation, which provides scholarships to students willing to pursue degrees in agriculture. The festival occurs every fall at the farm to celebrate local farmers and their crops.

In addition to generating funds for the Kadooka Foundation, the Reddekopps hope to inspire the next generation of farmers by supporting agriculture in local schools. Hawaiian Vanilla Company supports the Honoka‘a Agriculture Department at Honoka‘a High School by funding agriculture student field trips to the mainland. ❖

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North

Saturday & Tuesday: Hawi Farmers Market, North Kohala, across from Post Office and Nakahara Store, under the banyans (Saturdays 8 a.m.

– whenever everyone goes home; Tuesdays 2 – 6 p.m.)

58 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Saturday: Waimea Town Market at Parker School, 65-1224 Lindsey Rd., Waimea/Kamuela.

8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Saturday: Waimea Hawaiian Homestead Farmers Market, 64-759 Kahilu Rd., located at Kuhio Hale Bldg. (off of Mamalahoa Hwy., two miles east of Waimea town). 7 a.m. – noon

Saturday: Honoka‘a Farmers Market, Mamane St., Honoka‘a, Honoka‘a Trading Co., Old Botelho Bldg.

7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Tuesday & Friday: Kekela Farms Organic Farmers Market, 64-604 Mana Rd., Waimea. 100% organic.

2 – 5 p.m.

Wednesday: Midweek Farmer’s Market, Anna Ranch, 65-1480 Kawaihae Rd., (nestled beneath Hoku‘ula, aka Buster Brown), Kamuela.

12:30 – 5:30 p.m.

East

Sunday: Laupahoehoe Farmers Market.

Next to the Minit Stop on Hwy. 19. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Sunday – Monday: Panaewa Hawaiian Home Lands Farmers Market, Puainako and Ohuohu Streets

by Walmart, Hilo. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday & Thursday: Hilo Farmers Market, corner of Mamo and Kamehameha Ave., downtown Hilo. 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Sunday: Akebono Farmers Market.

Luquin’s/Akebono Theater parking lot. 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Sunday: Maku‘u Farmers Market, Kea‘au-Pahoa bypass road. 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Sunday & Thursday: Pepeekeo Farmers Market.

Off Hwy. 19 on Ka‘akepa St. Produce and foods. Sundays dawn to 2 p.m.; Thursdays 2 p.m. – dusk.

Tuesday – Saturday: Kea‘au Village Market, 16-6550 Old Volcano Rd., Kea‘au.

7 a.m. – 5 p.m.

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Saturday: Kino‘ole Farmers Market.

Kino‘ole Shopping Plaza, 1990 Kino‘ole St., Hilo, 7 a.m. – noon Saturday: Keaukaha Panaewa Farmers Market. Railroad Avenue, across from Home Depot.

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by Hawaiian Homelands lessees. 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Saturday: SPACE Farmers Market, S.P.A.C.E. Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education, 12-247 West Pohakupele Loop, Kalapana.

8 a.m. – noon Saturday: Hilo Coffee Mill, 17-995 Volcano Rd., Mountain View (on Hwy. 11 between the 12 and 13 mile marker). 8 a.m.–1 p.m.

Saturday & Wednesday: Hilo Farmers Market, corner of Mamo and Kamehameha Ave., downtown Hilo. 6 a.m. – 4 p.m.

South

Friday: Green Market, Ocean View Community Center, 92-8924 Leilani Circle, Ocean View.

2 – 6 pm.

Sunday: Volcano Farmers Market, Cooper Center, 1000 Wright Rd., Volcano Village. 6 – 9 a.m.

Saturday & Wednesday: Na‘alehu Farmers Market, Ace Hardware lawn.

8 a.m. – noon

West

Saturday: Keauhou Farmers Market, Keauhou Shopping Center, Keauhou. 8 a.m. – noon

Wednesday: Kings’ Shops Farmers Market, Waikoloa Beach Resort, Kohala Coast. 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Wednesday: Keauhou Wednesday Market, Front lawn, Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Wednesday-Sunday: Kona Farmers Market, corner of Ali‘i Drive and Hualalai Rd. 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Please send info on new markets or changes to editor@keolamagazine.com.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 59

Saturday: Waikoloa Village Farmers Market, 68-3625 Paniolo Ave., Waikoloa Community Church parking lot across from Waikoloa Elementary School.

7:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Sunday: South Kona Green Market, Captain Cook, Kealakekua Ranch Center (behind ChoiceMart and Ace Hardware).

9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

By Fern Gavelek

Love Family Farms

L

Lilikoi Syrup

ilikoi (Passionfruit) Syrup is just one of 100 Love Family Farms products made by Ken and Margy Love of Captain Cook.

The Loves produce 1,000 bottles of the sweet, tangy syrup annually, using fresh lilikoi or passionfruit that they have frozen ahead of time. They rely on a high-speed Juiceman to extract the juice and run it through three times to eliminate all the seeds. The syrup contains only lilikoi and white sugar.

“We don’t add any water to our syrups, jams or jellies,” emphasizes Margy. “We want the products to taste as close as possible to the fresh fruit.”

According to Ken, president of the statewide Hawai‘i Tropical Fruit Growers, the flavor of fruit is affected by growing conditions.

“Lilikoi from one farm can taste different from another,” he notes.

With that in mind, the syrup recipe is adjusted each time for sweetness and taste. To ensure a consistency in flavor, Ken uses a refractometer to test the brix, or sugar content, of the lilikoi.

60 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Margy’s Tropical Cole Slaw

Serves 6 1 head medium cabbage shredded 2 medium carrots shredded 1/2 fresh pineapple crushed, drain juice 1 cup dark or golden raisins 1/2 cup unsalted macadamia nuts chopped 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut shredded 2 Granny Smith apples diced Place all ingredients in large bowl. In a separate bowl make the dressing: 1/2 cup Miracle Whip (Ke Ola suggests plain yogurt or mayonnaise for less sugar) 1/8 cup Love Family Farms Lilikoi Syrup Mix together and add more syrup to taste. Toss dressing with veggies, fruit and nuts and serve.

Ken and Margy Love, on the family farm, in front of their lilikoi vines.

–Photo by Fern Gavelek

Love’s products are the result of a challenge. It was around 1996 that Dr. Kent Fleming, adjunct UH professor at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), told Ken to “show local growers what can be done with their farm crops.”

First, Ken went online to get USDA standards for commercial food processing. Since all guidelines were geared to temperate fruit crops, such as grapes, he had to adjust them as necessary to apply to tropical and “ultra-exotic” fruits.

Ken also learned the basics of food service industry safety, called FAT TOM, by taking a Serve Safe class at Hawai‘i Community College. FAT TOM stands for food, acid, time, temperature, oxygen and moisture—the six conditions required for the growth of food-borne pathogens, microorganisms that inhabit, create or contaminate food.

“I experimented with recipes to get a proper pH so the products would have a shelf life,” says Ken. He uses a pH meter, making sure recipes have the right balance of alkaline and acid—between 3.5 to 3.7.

“We’re always giving out recipes as we try to educate consumers on how to use our lilikoi syrup and other products,” explains Margy, who here provides her recipe for Tropical Cole Slaw.

Where to find Love’s Lilikoi Syrup: Get it every Saturday morning—while it lasts—at the Keauhou Farmers Market or online at http://www.localharvest.org/love-family-farms-M6354

If you have a product or service you would like featured in our Island Treasures section, please call our advertising dept. at 808.329-1711, x1 or email barb@keolamagazine.com

Filthy Farmgirl Soaps

Story and photos by Denise Laitinen

W

Sequoia Heuer shows two of Filthy Farmgirl’s most popular soapsFilthy Surfer and Filthy Hula girl.

fleas and ticks: neem, tea tree oil and eucalyptus, for example.

Gretchen and Devin are Filthy Farmgirl’s main employees and their friends and family help out as needed. They can be found at the Hilo Farmers Market every Wednesday and Saturday and Maku’u Market every Sunday. Their soaps are also carried in more than 200 stores around the world.

You can order Filthy Farmgirl soaps online at filthyfarmgirl.com.

Where to find on Hawai‘i Island: Treasure Island Gallery (Kona) , Hilo Farmers Market, Maku’u Farmers Market (Pahoa), Island Naturals (Kona, Pahoa, and Hilo), Persimmon (Waikoloa), What’s Shakin’ (Pepeekeo), As Hawi Turns (Hawi), Coffees & Epicurea (Honaunau)

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 61

ith their chic designs and funky names, Filthy Farmgirl soap look like they come from a trendy boutique in Los Angeles or New York City. The truth is that the 100-percent, all-natural soaps are made with local ingredients right in Kalapana. What started out as a fun hobby has turned into a super successful company with Filthy Farmgirl soaps found in more than 200 stores around the world.

Gretchen Wetzel watched her mother make handmade soaps as she grew up in California, adopting the soap-making craft as her own hobby, which continued after moving to Hawai‘i to work on an organic farm.

“Her friends started calling her the ‘soapy farm girl’,” says co-founder Devin Asch. An artist/illustrator, Devin also started making labels for her soaps, “just for fun.”

The couple launched Filthy Farmgirl with eight flavors at local farmers markets. That has now expanded to 78 flavors, offered in small and large size bars.

The soaps are a diverse lot: there’s Blood Orange Pomegranate (Filthy Vampire), Jolly Ginger Snap (Filthy Santa), Lavender Rose Dreamland (Filthy Cowgirl), and Juniper Lime Tonic (Filthy Gentleman) just to name a few. For the holidays they’re introducing two new soaps: “Soapy Santa” and “Soapy Elf”. They also make lip balm, called “smoochies” in many of the same flavors as the soap.

Probably the most unusual soap is the Flying Spaghetti Monster, made with sandalwood powder, red clay, and patchouli essential oil.

With a name like Filthy Farmgirl there’s room for a play on words with some of the labels and it’s probably no surprise that the slightly racy labels—such as Filthy Ass with a picture of a donkey on the label—are the most popular.

Aside from the naughty line, their most popular soaps are Filthy Surfer, made with flaked organic coconut and lime, and Filthy Hula Girl soap with jasmine flowers and vanilla.

Gretchen and Devin make all the soaps themselves in Kalapana and are committed to making a 100-percent natural product. “One of the main ingredients [in all the soaps] is coconut oil. It’s one of the most healing things you can put on your skin,” explains Devin. Every bar of soap declares that it contains “no yucky stuff,” animal products or detergents. And none of their products are tested on animals.

Filthy Farmgirl even makes soaps for cleaning dogs and cats. The soaps are made with ingredients specifically selected to help get rid of

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The Life

Kaliko records a lesson for his online Hawaiian language classroom at his home in late 2010. Photo courtesy of Kaliko Beamer-Trapp

OF THE PEOPLE Literature, serving as President of the Mohala Hou Foundation, which works to “promote public understanding and involvement in Hawaiian culture including music, dance, language, material crafts and history” — and he still finds time to perform, occasionally, with other members of the legendary Beamer ‘ohana, one of the first families of Hawaiian music and hula. He’s also served as a Hawaiian language judge at hula competitions.

Surprisingly, when Beamer-Trapp emerges from his student conference and speaks English with a visitor, he does so with a British accent. He was born on another isle — the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of England — and became a hanai (adopted) member of the Beamer family in a special ceremony in Waipi‘o Valley in 1996.

❁Continued on page 64

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 63

K

aliko Beamer-Trapp sits with two students in a tiny conference room at the offices of Kahuawaiola, the teacher training and certification program for Hawaiian language immersion schools, in a redwood “temporary building” on the University of Hawai‘i Hilo Campus. Both Beamer-Trapp and the students are speaking entirely in Hawaiian, punctuated with frequent laughter.

Few people could claim to be more immersed in Hawaiian language and culture than Beamer-Trapp. For six years, he taught anthropology, computer graphic arts, French, Marquesan, and aquaculture—all in the Hawaiian language— at Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu‘u Hawaiian Language Immersion School in Kea‘au. Now, in addition to his work at Kahuawaiola, he works as an instructor in Hawaiian at UH and teaches Hawaiian language online while pursuing a masters’ degree in Hawaiian Language and

Kaliko and Auntie Nona perform together for his family on the Isle of Wight, Christmas 2004. Photo courtesy of Kaliko Beamer-Trapp

64 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

❁Continued from page 63

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“I’m not Hawaiian,” says Beamer-Trapp, a slender, relatively young man with close-cropped, dark hair and an infectious smile.

“I never will be, and I’m not expecting to be and I don’t want people to think I am, but I love Hawaiian language and culture, and I think it’s just as valuable, it’s just as worthy as any other on Earth today. So it should still have a place in the modern world, and that’s what I’m here to do, is to help that happen.”

Beamer-Trapp’s odyssey halfway around the world began in 1982, when his parents divorced and he accompanied his mother to a new life in California. Many Americans tend to look at Britain and see all the similarities with themselves, but the young Brit found plenty of culture shock: the language, the culture and the school system, in his eyes, were all “very different,” and not all the change was to his liking. He made a conscious decision to “retain my Englishness,” as he puts it.

“I think that was one of the important realizations that started me on my path to the value of looking at a culture and a language that was particular to a certain people,” he says.

In 1985, he joined a troupe called Dances of the Pacific, founded and led by a kumu named Marge Bronson. The troupe performed a variety of music and dance from around the Pacific, including Tahitian, Tongan, Maori and Hawaiian. Performing with the group he first experienced, indirectly, the influence of the late Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha Beamer, universally known as “Auntie Nona”: beloved kumu hula, musician, composer, storyteller, author, teacher and cheery advocate of Hawaiian language and culture.

“In the 40s, she [Bronson] was a student of Auntie Nona Beamer in Hawai‘i; therefore, the type of hula she learned was Beamer-style hula, based on the hula style developed and taught

by Helen Desha Beamer,” relates Kaliko. “Marge subsequently went back home to California and started teaching Beamer-style hula there, which ended up turning into Dances of the Pacific.”

In 1989, after Bronson had passed away, Dances of the Pacific invited Auntie Nona to California for a tribute performance to her.

It was the first time Kaliko met the beloved matriarch of the Beamer clan in person, and it was an event both would long remember.

“I kind of came into a black hole, because I didn’t know anybody here,” he remembers. “I didn’t really know where Auntie Nona lived.

I didn’t know where Pahoa was.” He met Kapono Beamer and Uncle Keola Beamer when he came to Kamehameha Schools to collect the scholarship. By chance, he found his way to “a meeting put on by OHA [Office of Hawaiian Affairs] at Kamehameha Schools to discuss with community leaders in the Hawaiian language and culture area, how to perpetuate Hawaiian culture in Hawai‘i…I met Kalena Silva, Pila Wilson, Kauanoe Kamana Wilson, Larry Kimura, Kumu John Lake and many others who were very kind to me and invited me to continue my studies. They said to me, ‘Why don’t you come to Hilo to learn the Hawaiian language?’”

Auntie Nona invited him to live at her house. He found out, finally, where Pahoa was.

“She, I suppose, saw some promise,” he says, wonderingly. “Her real life’s goal was to help all people who wanted to learn Hawaiian language and culture — to help them to get there, to help them to do so...to perpetuate Hawaiian culture in all its aspects…. She and I went and did lectures, performances and presentations all over the place. We were performing with Keola Beamer and his wife Moana as well.”

He realized that through the lectures and performances they were doing, Auntie Nona was teaching him about Hawaiian culture in the traditional Hawaiian style.

“Maka hana ka ‘ike,” He Says. “You Learn by Doing.”

Auntie Nona passed away on April 10, 2008. Since then, Kaliko and the rest of the Beamer ‘ohana have devoted themselves to continuing her legacy. The Mohala Hou Foundation that Kaliko heads, for instance, is probably best known for its Aloha Music and Dance Camps in Keauhou, directed by Keola Beamer (Kaliko teaches Hawaiian language and ‘ukulele at the camps). [See Ke Ola magazine, September/October, 2011.] But the foundation also runs a number of other programs. It’s the Hawai‘i affiliate for Guitars in the Classroom, for instance, which brings guitarists to local schools to supplement their often fiscally-beleaguered music curricula.

The foundation’s Ho‘oulu (“to stimulate growth”) program focuses on “broad community interaction and bridge-building” through performances and other cultural activities.

And then, of course, there are all of Kaliko’s other teaching activities; in addition to his work with the university and Kahuawaiola, he runs an online Hawaiian language classroom called ‘Olelo Online (www.oleloonline.com).

“I love teaching Hawaiian language,” he says. “I have lots of great students, and I try to remind myself all the time of what Auntie Nona taught me, especially her teaching techniques — how to show love and aloha as you teach, and how to teach in general.

“She really refined how to teach Hawaiian culture….What Auntie Nona has done for so many people was that she gave so many people encouragement in their desire to learn Hawaiian language and music and culture.

“I’m just another one of those many people. I must give my credit to her.” ❖ Contact writer Alan McNarie at amcnarie@yahoo.com.

Resources: Kaliko’s audio book, Instant Immersion: Hawaiian, is available at amazon.com.

‘Ōlelo Online - Kaliko’s online Hawaiian language lessons: www.oleloonline.com Mohala Hou Foundation: www.mohalahou.org

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 65

“That was when I made my first lei. I found some plumeria somewhere, and I presented it to her onstage,” he recalls. Then he went to join the rest of the troupe in their performances.

Auntie Nona would recount what happened next so often that Kaliko can recite her words from memory: “I asked, ‘Who is this young haole boy? He’s out there singing with the Tahitians, dancing with the Tongans, singing with the Hawaiians. I want to know who he is.’”

“We ended up becoming friends just by chatting,” Kaliko recounts. “We stayed in touch by mail. I was trying to write Hawaiian mele, to write Hawaiian poetry and songs.”

But his main focus, at that point, was Tongan culture. He was living with a Tongan family and making a living by working alongside them, building rock walls.

“I got an inside view of Polynesian family life — modern life in California, but Tongan nonetheless. The speech, the mannerisms, the food were all Tongan.…I was hanging out with these people, eating their food, living in their house, and basically sucking up the Tongan lifestyle,’ he remembers. He started to learn the Tongan language, “just by being around these people,” and he liked it.

He also performed with the Tongans on cruise ships, which was how he first got to Hawai‘i. He scoured Honolulu bookstores for a volume on Tongan grammar and he found none. “When you ask speakers of any language to describe the grammar, you’re going to get a blank stare, he remarks. He did, however, find Hawaiian grammar books, which began to lead him in a new direction.

Then, in 1994, “Auntie Nona sent word to her cousin in California to find me and tell me, ‘Kaliko, why don’t you come to Hawai‘i?’”

The Beamers requested a $1,000 scholarship from Kamehameha Schools to bring him here to study Hawaiian language and culture, and they got it.

“When I heard that news, I made a plan,” he recalls. “I said, ‘In two weeks, I’m going to be on a plane with all of my stuff and I’m going to be on my way to Hawai‘i.’” He made his deadline, reducing his belongings to eight suitcases and getting them and himself on a plane in May of 1994.

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❁Continued on page 68

Keoki Kahumoku – Photo by Shane Tegarden

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 67

eoki Kahumoku is a passionate guy. His beautiful musical talent comes naturally, genetically, from a family that’s well-known in Hawaiian music. But it’s almost secondary to his passions — about many things, from teaching kids music and survival skills, to living sustainably and helping survivors of the recent Japanese tsunami. As his girlfriend and assistant, Tiffany Crosson, says, “His passion is what we all love most about Keoki.” His enthusiasm is contagious. When he talks about the things that matter to him, you can hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes. In fact, the current of passion that flows through his singing and playing makes his musical performances stand apart.

“Really, everything I’ve done has been out of necessity, to survive,” Keoki tells me. “I wanted to stay in Hawai‘i; and I would rather not work for someone else. I never thought I’d be a musician and a teacher. I thought I was going to be a hunter and fisherman all my life—and maybe grow some pakalolo, like so many people I knew.” Many of Keoki’s acquaintances, and even some family, ended up in prison due to drug charges, and he had a close call himself, when he was 19, that made him determined to go another way with his life.

Fishing and hunting receded to the background in Keoki’s life in 1989, when he was called upon suddenly by his father, George Kahumoku, Jr., to fill in for his uncle Moses in the Hawaiian music group that George led at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Keoki had to learn the ‘ukulele fast, out of necessity. It was imperative to keep the group going because George had experienced a medical emergency, in the form of an aneurism, that left him unable to continue his heavy farm work. With his Kahumoku resourcefulness and creativity, George decided he would support himself and his family with his music.

The Mauna Kea job “kick-started” Keoki’s productive music career. At first he was only allowed to play on one string on a baritone ‘ukulele!

Then two strings, and on, up to four as he improved.

After the ‘ukulele came the learning of slack key guitar.

His early teachers included his father, his uncle Moses Kahumoku, Marcus Wong Yuen, Pekelo, Sam Ahia and others. His unique, rich voice and mastery of slack key guitar and ‘ukulele have all contributed to making him the fine musician he is now. As of this fall, 2011, at the age of 41, he has played on five Grammy-award-winning CDs. Even so, Keoki says, “My life is about ‘humbling.’ Every time you think you’re hot stuff, you

❁Continued from page 67

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meet someone who does it better or knows more than you do. Sometimes when people are humbled they give up, but I knew that if I didn’t ‘get over myself,’ nothing would happen. I was taught that whatever I did, I should just do the very best job that I could do. When you’re humble, you’re more able to receive information and be able to take that information and share it with other people.”

Keoki’s passion for the process of sustainability is a motivating factor behind many of the commitments and interests of his life; learning about and living in a sustainable manner himself, and teaching kids how to do it too. A natural and compassionate teacher, he says, “I want to teach them basic life skills, and how to be able to survive in the real world.

I feel like Hawai‘i has ‘dodged the bullet’ so many times—with earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis. Now we have a chance to prepare.” He’s raising livestock on a farm in Hilo for the benefit of his extended family and families he knows who can use the food. Pig farming goes way back in his family. He’s using a “game-changing,” dry litter method of pig and chicken farming that was initiated many years ago by his dad and grandfather in Kealia, as a way to be able to farm with little or no available water. The method is in practice at Masazo Pig Farm in Ka‘ū, among other places. And, as anyone who’s attended one of Keoki’s fundraisers or camps knows, not only does he raise pigs, he’s become a “smoke meat” master!

At his Hawaiian Music and Lifestyle Camp each winter in Pahala, Keoki teaches kids how to raise their own food and prepare it from the ground up. Adults are welcome, too! This “everything from scratch” approach really makes his camps unique.

The lifestyle camp also has music and cultural workshops as a major part of it, with world class performers/teachers such as Ledward Ka‘apana, the Rev. Dennis Kamakahi, Sonny Lim and Canadian ‘ukulele genius, James Hill, among others serving as faculty. Hawaiian food preparation is taught, including taro preparation, imu building, pig roasting and laulau making, in addition to hula, Hawaiian language and chant (oli). Kupuna from the area also share their knowledge of Hawaiian culture. Aunty Kaiwi Perkins teaches lauhala weaving at the camps. Her influence was responsible for getting the program started with the Big Island ‘Ukulele Guild which donates locally-made ‘ukulele to kids in Ka‘ū. Keoki’s ‘ukulele building workshops, using kits made in partnership with KoAloha ‘Ukulele Company, have resulted in 120 ‘ukulele being built for kids in need. Aunty Diana Aki, the famous “Hawaiian Songbird” from Miloli’i, is also often at the camps.

Keoki feels strongly that “the future is in the hands of our kūpuna and young children.”

In addition to the Hawaiian Music and Lifestyle Camp, Keoki leads spontaneous “long weekend” camps for school kids at different locations around the island; they are usually tied in to school holidays. Keoki’s camps and workshops have made a huge difference in the lives of a lot of kids, especially in the district of Ka’ū, which is one of Hawai‘i’s most economically depressed

“Keoki’s Kids” at Hawaiian Music and Lifestyle Camp

Contact writer Shirley Stoffer at shirley@konaweb.com.

For more information about Keoki, visit www.keokikahumoku.com For information about the family’s low-water method of pig farming, visit http://mysare.sare.org/publications/hogs/ profile2.htm.

To find out more about the Hawaiian Music and Lifestyle Camp: http://konaweb.com/keoki Preparing the imu for the lu‘au

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 69

areas since the closing of the Pahala Sugar Mill.

Many of these kids have attended the camps using scholarships funded through his non-profit Center for Hawaiian Music Studies. Philanthropist Edmond Olson of Ka’ū has helped fund Keoki’s enterprises over the years, as has the Queen Lili’uokalani Children’s Trust and Alu Like, which supports indigenous cultures (Diane Kai from the Hilo office has been especially helpful). Terry Shibuya of BISAC (Big Island Substance Abuse Council) has referred atrisk kids from Pahala High School to Keoki’s workshops, and Miss Tonini, a teacher at Na’alehu Elementary, has arranged for Keoki to do an after-school program once a week in Ka’ū, teaching ‘ukulele. Some of Keoki’s older students are now able to take over teaching a few of the classes, which makes him very happy. Keoki is teaching music at Pahala Elementary and Ka’ū High School three days a week now, too. He teaches some private lessons and often instructs at his father, George Kahumoku Jr.’s, annual music camp on Maui.

Keoki is a true mentor to the kids he teaches, and he shares his past mistakes with them in the hope that it will help them make good decisions about which way to go with their own lives. “I’ve lost three friends to suicide lately,” he says. (West Hawai‘i Today newspaper just ran a feature article

by Carolyn Lucas-Zenk on Sept. 6, 2011, about how high the suicide rate is on the Big Island, stating that according to a 2009 risk study, “Hawai‘i high school students had the highest self-reported prevalence of seriously considering suicide, making a plan and attempting suicide, in the nation.

They also had the third highest rate of being sad or hopeless.”) Keoki has had to battle his own demons: “I know about heartache and

depression,” he says. “Sometimes people just need a little help to tip the balance the other way.” Keoki tries to live his life in a way that sets a good example for his students.

Keoki credits his father with exposing him to a lot of different music genres from a young age. (The late harmonica legend, Norton Buffalo was a close family friend, as is internationallyknown steel guitar wizard, Bob Brozman, to name a couple of influences.) Keoki helps organize bluegrass workshops twice a year on Maui and the Big Island, with talented young bluegrass performers from Alaska and the mainland serving as teachers. The program started out five years ago as a collaboration between a wonderful elderly woman fiddler, the Rev. Belle Mikelson from Alaska, and the Haleakalā Waldorf School on Maui. Christ Church in Kealakekua sponsors the bluegrass workshops on the west side of the island, and members of the church’s congregation have opened up their hearts and homes to the visiting musicians while they’re here. The musicians call themselves the Olowalu Outfit band when they’re in Hawai‘i, and they usually do a dinner/concert at Christ Church, a concert at the Blue Dragon in Kawaihae, and a dinner/concert at Hana Hou Restaurant in Na’alehu. They’ve also performed at Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo with Brittni Paiva, another student of Keoki’s.

As far as his music performance goes, Keoki is still touring regularly with his dad and others, but he’s currently only doing a select number of local appearances. His primary music gig on the Big Island is at Hana Hou Restaurant in Na’alehu on the second Friday of every month, from 6-8 p.m. (reservations recommended!), and he usually plays at the Blue Dragon in Kawaihae one Saturday a month. Sometimes, too, he will hop a plane to go over and play at his father’s Masters of Hawaiian Music Slack Key show at Napili on Maui, and, of course, Keoki participates in the annual Slack Key Guitar Festival, which comes to the Big Island every September.

“Always thinkin’!”, Keoki intends to start a community garden in Pahala soon, on the property of the Pahala Plantation House. ❖

70 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Hawi North Kohala Come for the Day or Stay and Play for the Weekend!

Looking for a way to experience a taste of Old Hawaii?

Come visit beautiful, green, historic North Kohala. Hawi and Kapa’au, once sugar plantation towns, offer a delightful array of small shops, eateries, and wonderful art galleries!

take home memories that you’ll treasure from your time here at the “end of the trail.” It’s just a short drive and a great day trip from any of the resorts on the Kohala Coast.

Let this be your island getaway!

Stroll down our historic mainstreet and browse the shops, listen to live music, and see the famous statue of King Kamehameha. Relax your pace, let go of your worries, and

We look forward to your visit and welcome you to our community.

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The Kona Music Society Susan Duprey, Artistic Director, presents Three Holiday Choral Concerts featuring Holiday Favorites & The KMS Youth Chorus

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Sunday, November 27th, 4PM “Joy To The World” with brass, percussion & organ presented by the KMS Adult and Youth Choruses at the Sheraton Keauhou. k Silent Auction begins at 2PM k

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Sunday, December 4th, 4PM, A FREE CONCERT! “A Holiday Sampler” A FREE family concert for the community at the Old Airport Pavilion.

Come as you are and help us celebrate the season in song!

Beach chairs and mats are welcome!

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Sunday, December 18th, 4PM The KMS Chorus & Orchestra presents “Handel's Messiah” at the Sheraton Keauhou.

Bring your scores and sing-along!

Adults $20 • Youth $5 Reserved Seats $25 & $10

72 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Tickets available at the door, Kona Bay Books or visit us online at www.konamusicsociety.org

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IN MUSIC

The Life Honoka‘a High School Band Director Gary Washburn, himself a professional musician, recording artist and composer, is passing along his love of music and musicianship to hundreds of high school students. He single-handedly developed an award-winning band program for the Hawai‘i Island small-town high school.

– Photo by Sarah Anderson

Originally from Oklahoma, Gary and his brother Kent took piano lessons from a teacher, coincidentally named Ruth Washburn, who played piano with a traveling “one-car band” in the 1930s. She made music fun for the boys, and her lessons stuck. In school, the band director had him play whatever instrument was needed: saxophone, clarinet, oboe, etc., although Gary wanted to be a drummer.

He started playing professionally at age 16, touring in the summers with his brother Kent, of EmKay Productions in Los Angeles.

Their band, the “Shadow Lake Eight” (aka “The Jades”) played with Brenda Lee, worked behind Ray Hamilton, Johnny Nash and the Charlie Daniels Band, among others, and appeared on the Bob Hope Show. Radical, because the band teamed up with an African-American girl group, the “Del Chiffons,” and popular, as they toured night clubs and college campuses across the Midwest in the 1960s, they ultimately disbanded when one of their number was drafted to serve in the Viet Nam war.

Gary attended Oklahoma State, switched his major from veterinary medicine to music, and traveled to Univerisity of Hawai‘i at Manoa to earn a Master’s Degree in music composition. He studied in Boston, worked in Los Angeles, and in 1978 came to the Big Island to settle down, teach and play music. When he began at Honoka‘a High School, they had a band room and instruments, but no music program to speak of.

The HHS Jazz Band. Many former students have gone on to make music their careers. – Photo by Catherine Tarleton

“We started from scratch with 15 kids who played wind instruments,” he said. “I had a chorus class, guitar class, ‘ukulele class and a band, but no beginning band....and I told the school, ‘You are never going to have anything unless I can get to them before puberty and cars set in.’”

Washburn set up 7th and 8th grade music appreciation classes, then discovered a way to make them more fun, the way Mrs. Washburn did for him. “I was going through some state books of the kinds of classes you can offer, and there was one called

❁Continued on page 74

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I

t’s a bright, windy afternoon in Honoka’a for the Peace Day Festival, and the Honoka‘a High School Jazz Band is rocking the field with some big, belted-out blues by a diminutive female vocalist. The kids play with heart -- a crisp, professional sound that has the crowd dancing in the grass.

Stage right, squatting down, a tall guy holds fluttering sheet music clamped to the stand while the saxes wail. That’s Band Director Gary Washburn, doing what it takes, the way he has for over 30 years, to make the Honoka‘a High School music program the best it can be. Good enough to win an award from the Grammy Foundation in April as one of 36 “Grammy Signature Schools” nationwide, out of 23,000 eligible schools. Pretty much proving it’s one of the best anywhere.

Last year, the band received a NAMM Award (National Association of Music Merchandisers) as one of the best communities in the US for music education, and Gary earned a “Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction Award” by the National Society of High School Scholars. They’ve performed on National Public Radio’s “From the Top” and opened for the Royal Hawaiian Band at ‘Iolani Palace, where they were recognized by the State Legislature; they do a multi-concert tour of Oahu annually to celebrate “National Jazz Appreciation Month,” and their 11th CD has just been released.

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❁Continued from page 73 ‘ensemble,’ where you combined students for a particular kind of music,” he said. The light bulb flashed on. “I thought, ‘OK, rock-and-roll works.’”

“I kind of turned it around on them,” he said, “applying it to what kids were listening to --Kalapana, the Caz, Olomana. They put something in for me to listen to and I could write it down. It inspired them; it turned them on.”

Out of his own pocket, he bought a drum set, an electric keyboard and other instruments, and soon had a rhythm section for the chorus class. Although they learned by listening at first, as the kids got more into it, they wanted to learn how to read music, so Washburn taught them.

He also developed an innovative chart system, like a little league or soccer coach might use. Tracking for each song who had the solos, who played bass, drums, guitar, etc., he gave every student both a visual map of arrangements and a chance to play to their abilities.

Along the way, the band grew larger and stronger. It occurred to Washburn, “Why do we produce all this music and never play for anybody? ” They started offering free school concerts in Laupahoehoe, Waimea, Kohala, Kea‘au and many other schools and community programs.

Their current performance schedule includes ensemble shows, an annual Jazz Band Concert, a talent show in Honoka‘a, an alumni “Legacy Band” Concert, school concerts around the island, community events like Relay for Life, the Visitor Industry Charity Walk, Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival, a trip to the Honolulu Jazz Festival, and an invitation to play for a large convention group.

Expenses are funded by the kids and their families, community donations, proceeds from concerts and the Jazz Band CD recorded each year. Washburn emphasizes that the CD is not for sale. “We give it away for a donation of $10 or more,” he said.

Washburn does most of the arrangements for the Jazz Band and Ensembles. “It’s one of my joys because I am in love with writing music,” he said. Although, unlike “Mr. Holland’s Opus” (a movie he’s never seen), Washburn doesn’t have a master work in progress, he does have original music he would like to finish, including an orchestral piece once played by the Honolulu Symphony. His CD of original compositions, “A Life In A Day” by the group Justin Thyme, was produced by Milan Entertainment and ex-Motown producer Kent Washburn, for a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, and is very popular in Japan.

Gary also continues playing gigs with the Olliephonics, Doug Johnson, Ati Mohala, Bill Noble, and Terry Secor and Full Circle. Proficient at most instruments, “I call myself ‘the resident sub,’” he said. “I never witnessed a teacher who could pick up any instrument and play with the kids,” said Washburn.

“It helps me understand the kids…Working with kids is just truly a blessing. I learn from them every year. There’s always some kid who looks at things a different way, and I think, ‘Wow I never thought of that.’”

“Some music teachers are so jaded by their own education, they’re not able to look at things and expand on their own creativity,” he said. “Kids are going to pursue music in college, they are going to pursue it in high school, to play for family parties, work at the hotels, or keep it for themselves. They are going to learn different ways for their own satisfaction.”

The Shadow Lake Eight and Kandi Moore (1963-64) (aka “The Jades”) played with Brenda Lee, worked behind Ray Hamilton, Johnny Nash and the Charlie Daniels Band, among others, and appeared on the Bob Hope Show. Pictured (L-R): Kent Washburn, Gary Washburn, Amos Meng, Archie Barnes, Bing Vassaur, Bill Hieronymus, Terry Mead, Denny “Zoot” Freeman, Minita “Kandi” Moore. Photo courtesy Gary Washburn

“What percentage are going to be professional musicians? Probably more than athletics. A large percentage will at least supplement their income. They develop a love of music and take it a step farther,” he said, “They will have music in their lives.”

Many former students do have music as a very big part of their lives. Polynesian recording artist R.J. Lanui Kaneao is

Gary Washburn was presented with a Grammy Signature Schools Enterprise Award on May 12, 2011, at the Honoka’a People’s Theatre. Musicians and award winners, Cyril Pahanui, Charles Brotman, Skylark Rossetti and Allen Yamamoto represented the Grammy Foundation. Gary and Honoka’a High School principal Glenn Grey accepted the $5,500 cash award and a trophy during the short ceremony that opened the annual Honoka’a High School Ensembles Talent Show. Photo by Sarah Anderson

To find out more about the band, make a donation and obtain your CD, please call Gary Washburn at Honoka‘a High School, 775.8800 ext.287.

Contact writer Catherine Tarleton at catherinetarleton@gmail.com.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 75

a Jazz Band success story (Class of ’92), whose father helped build stages and support the band while R.J. was in school. Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning producer Ryan Hiraoka (Class of 2000), learned to play bass from Washburn in the 7th grade. Hiraoka earned a BA in music from UH Manoa, founded Rubbah Slippah Productions (RSP) in 2005 and topped playlists in 2006 with the hit song “Big Island Ladies” from his debut CD. “I think he is inspirational in that he expects a lot from these kids,” said band mom Calley O’Neill, whose son Noa is a percussionist. “And when you expect a lot, they rise to the occasion every time—when you are inspirational yourself. And, after 30 years he has built a reputation as the single best music teacher in Hawai‘i.”

“It’s having fun,” said Washburn, “having fun with music. I love music. I’m driven by that and by the needs of students to enjoy it.”

When asked how long he plans to continue, he said, “I used to say I would retire when I stop having fun, but I don’t see myself ever stopping having fun.” ❖

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November-December 2011 ❖ H A P P E N I N G S ❖

NOVEMBER “Shopping in Your PJs for the Holidays: Help the Critters be Merry” All of November - Online The Three Ring Ranch in Kona offers its online-only auction event. Log on to shops for holiday gifts while helping the critters.

Check out threeringranch.org for more details as they become available.

Hilo Hula Days - 100 Days of Aloha by the Bay All Tuesdays plus Nov. 4, 7, 14, 17, 24 and 28 Live Hawaiian music and hula show, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. rain or shine. Free at the Mo’oheau Bandstand on the Bayfront of Historic Downtown Hilo. Featuring the Mo’oheau Serenaders and special guests.

Free admission and convenient free parking. Coordinated and produced by the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association. 329 Kamehameha Ave. 808.935.8850.

Georgia O’Keeffe’s Hawai’i Tuesday, Nov. 1 Keauhou Patricia Jennings was 12 in 1939 when her family hosted Georgia O’Keeffe in Hana, Maui. She guided O’Keeffe around for two weeks and has authored a book about their time together. Patricia shares her stories and reads from “Georgia O’Keeffe’s Hawai’i,” which also features O’Keeffe’s Hawai’i paintings, 50 period photos, and O’Keeffe’s letters from Hawai’i. 6 p.m., Kona Stories, Keauhou Shopping Center.

Trashformation Art Exhibit Nov. 2 - 26 Waimea Trashformation, art from recycled and found objects, is by J. Jay West at Waimea Arts Council Firehouse Gallery at 67-1201 Mamalahoa Highway. Gallery hours: Wed, Sat., 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., subject to the availability of docents. The Waimea Arts Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts in North Hawai‘i.

6th Annual Moku O Keawe Hula Festival Thursday – Saturday, Nov. 3 – 5 Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort Enjoy. Experience. Learn and share. Under starry skies, halau from Hawai’i and Japan shine on the big stage at Waikoloa Bowl, as group and solo dancers compete for top

❁Continued on page 78

Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

Friday, Nov. 4: Sugai Kona Coffee Talent Night 6:30 - 9 p.m., Konawaena High School, Kealakekua

KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest & Big Island Showcase 12:30 - 3 p.m., Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa Convention Center

Sunday, Nov. 13 Aloha Makahiki Concert 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m., Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa Convention Center

Monday – Friday, Nov. 7 – 11 Kona Coffee Living History Farm Tour 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Captain Cook Special $10 rate with Festival button, available for purchase at site.

Wednesday, Nov. 9 Kona Coffee Market Day and Cultural Events 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Old Airport, Kailua-Kona Thursday, Nov. 10 Kona Coffee Council Dinner & Benefit Auction 6 p.m., Keauhou Beach Resort

Festival events subject to change.

Visit konacoffeefest.com for up-to-date information. With the exception of just a few event admission charges, the Festival button is your ticket to all events. All button proceeds benefit the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.

Photos courtesy of Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 77

Selected Events (see calendar below for more details):

UCC Hawai‘i Kona Coffee Picking Contest 7:30 a.m., Ueshima Coffee Farm, Holualoa

Big Island Arts Annual.com

Nov. 4 – 13 Kona Since its inception in 1970, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival’s mission has been to preserve, perpetuate and promote Kona’s 180-year coffee heritage. This year’s celebration features nearly 50 events, including tastings, art exhibits, cupping competition, farm tours, contests, parades, sporting events, and special events. 808.326.7820 or visit konacoffeefest.com.

Saturday, Nov. 12 Kona Coffee Marketplace–Festival of Artists and Ethnic Foods 9:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m., Old Airport, Kailua-Kona

HAWAII ARTISTS

Saturday, Nov. 5: Holualoa Village Coffee & Art Stroll 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Holualoa UCC Hawai‘i Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Pageant 6:30 p.m., Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa Convention Center

Family Festival and Veteran Salute 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Old Airport, Kailua-Kona Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Parade 5 p.m., Route: Royal Kona Resort to King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel.

Cultural program and bon dance follows.

I

Spotlight:

Friday, Nov. 11 Kona Coffee Council Farm & Mill Tour 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Pick up at Hale Halawai Pavilion, Kailua-Kona

❖ H A P P E N I N G S ❖

❁Continued from page 77

To My Hilo Patients from Dr Alan Thal, MD. From a place of both gratitude and sadness, the time has come for me to announce my retirement from my practice of medicine located out of my satellite clinic in Hilo.

I will still be practicing holistic medicine at my Hawi location in Kohala and can be contacted at 808-889-5556.

I have enjoyed the privilege of treating so many of you over the past 15 plus years. You have been my inspiration and I am grateful that you have placed your confidence in me over the years. I pray that I leave you all with a greater state of health and wellness than when we first met.

In order to ensure the continuation of excellent healthcare for you and your family, it is with the greatest confidence that I can recommend a fine, young physician that has joined our Hilo community:Dr. Christopher Lawinski, MD.

honors in ancient hula kahiko and modern hula ‘auana forms. During the day, a special opportunity to join in-depth cultural workshops and excursions exploring the arts and protocols of authentic places, practices and musical instruments of Hawai‘i. Plus, a fabulous made-in-Hawai‘i Marketplace Friday and Saturday offers fine art and cultural crafts, aloha wear, food products and more. MokuOKeawe.org.

Black & White Night

Photos courtesy of Hilo Downtown Improvement Association

I will be in constant contact with Dr. Lawinski throughout your transition should any questions arise with regard to your care.

Through the years, I have developed a deep sense of love and family with you all and wish you continued good health and happiness Holistic Health Hawaii in your quest for all the magic that this life can bring.

78 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Love To All, Alan D. Thal, MD 889-5556

Christopher O’Riley/ Carter Brey Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 • 8pm Tickets: $25-$65

Makana Series Events

There is no charge for admission to any events in the Makana series Thu., Nov.10 7pm

FILM - Sharkwater

Wed., Nov. 16 5:30pm FILM/DISCUSSION - “Consider Fri., Nov. 18 8pm Thu., Dec. 8 7pm

Fri., Dec. 30

the Conversation” Marc Bamuthi Joseph “Word Becomes Flesh” KECK LECTURE - Oodles of Exoplanets: The Search for other Habitable Worlds FILM - The Last of the Hawaiian Cowboys

Visit WWW.KAHILUTHEATRE.ORG • Main season schedule • Discover the new 5for5Series • Makana Series offerings

BOX OFFICE 885-6868 M–F 9am-3pm

Nov. 4 – 13 Kona Since its inception in 1970, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival’s mission has been to preserve, perpetuate and promote Kona’s 180-year coffee heritage. This year’s celebration features nearly 50 events, including tastings, art exhibits, cupping competition, farm tours, contests, parades, sporting events, and special events.

808.326.7820 or visit konacoffeefest.com.

Sugai Kona Coffee Talent Night

Dr. Lawinski’s practice is located in Hilo at 110 Haili St. The office, called the Hawaii Whole Person Healing Collective, is a collective of Healing Arts Professionals working to offer the most cutting edge healthcare available, a blend of state-of-the-art Western and Holistic Medicine.

Dr. Lawinski can be reached at 936-1156 and www.HawaiiWholePersonHealing.com.

KAHILU THEATRE

Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

Friday, Nov. 4 Kealakekua Television’s top-rated reality singing competitions like American Idol, America’s Got Talent and The Voice are no real match for Kona Coffee Talent Night. Everyone’s invited as residents and visitors join in for some great “Kona’s Got Talent” karaoke entertainment. 6:30 - 9 p.m. Konawaena High School, 81-1043 Konawaena School Road. A $3 Festival button is required for admission and will be sold at the door.

Kalai Open House

Black & White Night Friday, Nov. 4 Hilo Downtown Hilo’s biggest annual strolling party with numerous live music venues, fashion shows, a treasure hunt through town, free food, author and artist receptions. Everyone dresses in black and white, from shorts and T-shirts to gowns and suits to enter the “Best Dressed Black & White Contest” for cash prizes. 5 – 10 p.m. Free!

808.935.8850 or visit downtownhilo.com.

Hoku Concert Series: “The American Tenor” Friday, Nov. 4 North Kona An exquisite night of music, in a private Hualalai Resort venue, as tenor Cody Austin sings a tribute to Mario Lanza. Designed to be an up-close and personal experience, the Hoku Concert Series, entering its 11th season, benefits community organizations in West Hawai‘i. This concert benefits Aloha Performing Arts Company. Seating limited to 75. 7:30 p.m. General Admission $75; Preferred seating $125; Diva Seats $250 (front row) apachawaii.org.

Friday – Sunday, Nov. 4 – 6 Captain Cook Kalai means carving in Hawaiian, and for this event, expert stone and wood carvers are on site making poi boards and poi stones at this unique cultural garden.

Watch and learn about the tools, materials and process. Free. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Nov. 4 and 5; 10 a.m – 1 p.m. Nov. 6 at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, Hwy. 11. 323.3318 or visit bishopmuseum.org.

Big Island Fall Arts Festival Exhibit Nov. 4 – 23 Hilo If there is a “must see” show of the creativity and talent in all media of top Hawai‘i Island artists, this is it, now in its 35th year.

Meet the artists on Friday, Nov. 4 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at an opening reception.

Otherwise the show is open in three galleries from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily at the East Hawai‘i Cultural Center. Free. 808.961.5711 or visit ehcc.org

Arbor Day Celebration Nov. 4 – 6 Captain Cook This three-day celebration of Arbor Day at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden includes woodworking demonstrations (9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Nov. 4-5; 9 a.m. 1 p.m. Nov. 6) free garden tours, a seed

❖ H A P P E N I N G S ❖ exchange, expert advice, visitor center dedication and a give-away of 500 native trees daily from 9 a.m. – noon. Free.

9 a.m. – 4 p.m. all days. 808.323.3318.

Na Mea Hawai‘i Hula Kahiko Performance Saturday, Nov. 5 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park See traditional hula and chant performed outdoors on the hula platform overlooking Kīlauea Crater featuring Halau Hula Ka No‘eau. 10:30 a.m. Hawaiian cultural demonstrations at Volcano Art Center Gallery, 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Free; park entrance fees apply. 808-967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

Holualoa Village Coffee and Art Stroll Saturday, Nov. 5 Holualoa Part of the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, sample estate-grown Kona coffee from two dozen area farms at art galleries and shops in this mountainside artists’ community. Gifts, a keiki art contest, live music and more. 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. 808.322.8484 or visit holualoahawaii.com.

Metropolitan Opera HD Live

“Tropix”

Saturday, Nov.5 Kailua-Kona “Siegfried” by Wagner is performed by the esteemed Metropolitan Opera, live on the big-screen HD TV at Makalapua Stadium Cinemas. Part of the famous “Ring” cycle, Wagner’s cosmic vision focuses on his hero’s early conquests, while director Robert Lepage’s revolutionary stage machine transforms itself from bewitched forest to mountaintop love nest. Sung in German with English translation provided simultaneously on the screen. 12:55 p.m. $24, $22 senior, $20 student with ID.

Saturday -Sunday, Nov. 5 - 6 Hilo and Kohala Coast The Orchestra of the Hawaiian Islands presents the chamber music of “Tropix,” featuring Brazilian violinist Manoela Wunder and guitarist Philip Simmons, resident conductor of the Orchestra of the Hawaiian Islands, in a program of works by Debussy, Ravel, Paganini, Villa-Lobos and others. On Saturday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m., “Tropix” performs at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo.

Free, but reservations are requested, 808.969.9719. On Sunday, Nov. 6, 7 p.m., “Tropix” performs at The Fairmont Orchid, Hawai‘i. This is a benefit, with proceeds from $25 tickets going towards the new Instrumental Music Program at Parker School. 808.315.0885 for reservations. Visit americanmusicfestivals.com

Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Pageant Saturday, Nov. 5 Keauhou The spotlight shines on the Big Island’s talented young women and crowns Miss Kona Coffee and Miss Aloha Hawai‘i 2012.

No-host cocktails 6:30 p.m., pageant 7:30 p.m. Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa Convention Center. Tickets are $30 plus a Festival button. Ticket hotline 808.557.0677.

Kona Coffee Picking Contest Sunday, Nov. 6 Holualoa Sponsored by UCC Hawai‘i, coffee pickers of all levels and experience including pioneers, pros, novices and keiki are invited to test their ability by picking Kona coffee by hand. Winners receive cash prizes and gifts for picking the most coffee within the three-minute time limit. 7:30 a.m. registration; 8:30 a.m. competition.

Ueshima Coffee Farm, 75-5568 Mamalahoa Highway. A $3 Festival button is required for participation and will be sold at the event.

Kona Coffee Council Dinner & Benefit Auction Thursday, Nov. 10 Keauhou A festive evening hosted by members of the Kona coffee industry includes buffet dinner, silent auction and live entertainment. Everyone is welcome. 6 p.m. no-host cocktails; 7 p.m. buffet. Keauhou Beach Resort. $45. Reservations required, 808322-6575.

Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Parade Friday, Nov. 11 Kailua-Kona The year 2011 brings a new parade format to the Festival, combining the former Grand and Lantern Parades into one new and exciting Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Parade. Parade steps off 5 p.m. from Royal Kona Resort to King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. Watch the colorful floral floats, marching bands, colorful ethnic costumes and, as the sun goes down, lanterns that light up the parade route as the Festival celebrates Kona’s heritage. An

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 79

KONA'S NEWEST & FINEST STORAGE FACILITY

❖ H A P P E N I N G S ❖

❁Continued from page 79 evening of multi-ethnic performances, bon dance, food and coffee tasting follows the parade from 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel parking lot.

Family Festival and Veteran Salute Friday, Nov. 11 Kailua-Kona Before the Kona Coffee Festival Parade, enjoy family-friendly games, activities and entertainment throughout the day from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Makaeo County Pavilion (Old Airport Events Pavilion.)

A $3 Kona Coffee Festival button is required for attendance and may be purchased at Makaeo County Pavilion.

Ho‘oulu Kalani

80 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Friday, Nov. 11 Honomolino The date is an auspicious day in itself : 11-11-11. Ho’oulu i Kalani (inspired by the heavens) celebrates a day of healing at Ho’oli (Honomalino Acres). Native Hawaiian speakers offer their mana’o on spirit of healing, ho‘oponopono, Hawaiian spirituality and lomilomi. Listen to the elders share knowledge that is passed to them. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event—a day of inspiration, healing and aloha. Speakers include Mahealani Kuamo’o Henry, Nani Kapoi,

Kahekili Ursua, Sheila O’Malley and more.

88-1572 Ala Pakaua St., Honomalino Acres, between 88-89 mile marker. 9 a.m. to sunset. $50 for non-residents; $35 kama‘aina.

Lunch available for $10. Purchase tickets online at hooliestate.com.

We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For Friday, Nov. 11 Hilo 11.11.11—Join Medicine for the People for an intentional evening of giving thanks for what was, what is and what will be.

The evening is a prayer, facilitated by music and movement. The setting is the historic Palace Theater, 38 Haili Street. “Prepare for the future with the intention of mindfulness and compassion in a time of astrological transmutation, economic transition, living by example and using resources carefully so as to leave our keiki with more than we were left with.” 808.934.7010 or visit medicineforthepeople.org. Tickets at hilopalace.com.

South Side Fall Arts Show Saturday, Nov. 12 Ocean View A 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. community art show.

Juried and peoples choice awards in adult and juvenile. OceanView Community

Center, 92- 8924 Leilani Circle. Artists’ registration forms at www.ovca.alohabroadband.com or at OVCC. 808-640-1315 or wingha@hotmail.com.

Kona Coffee Festival Marketplace Saturday, Nov. 12 Kailua-Kona Festival of Artists and Ethnic Foods at Makaeo County Pavilion (Old Airport Events Pavilion). 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. During the day, Hawaiian soulful recording artist Paula Fuga will be on-stage accompanied

by Michael Love, guitarist, for a 90-minute concert. Community groups offer ethnic foods and crafts at their booths. Presented

by Kamehameha Schools. A $3 Festival button is required for attendance and may be purchased at the pavilion.

Aloha Makahiki Concert Saturday, Nov. 12 Keauhou Ancient Hawaiian blessing of Makahiki by Kumu Mika Keale-Goto with Halau Keale, Honalo, Kona and Tokyo, Japan. Traditional Hawaiian music and hula with renowned musicians including Aaron Mahi, George Kuo, Martin Pahinui, Stephen Akana and more. 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa Convention Center. Final event of Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.

Christmas in the Country Saturdays - Sundays, Nov. 19 – 20, 26 - 27 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Special holiday celebrations include art demonstrations, print and book signing by gallery artists, plus handcrafted decorations and gifts offered only during the holiday season. Volcano Art Center Gallery; park entrance fees apply. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

866.967.7565 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

Christmas Craft EgStravaganza Friday - Saturday, Nov. 18 - 19 Hilo The holiday season means craft fairs and this one features a wide variety and other handmade items by artisans from the Hawaiian Islands. Also food, games, door prizes, school choral groups and festive music. Friday from 5 -10 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Edith Kanaka‘ole Tennis Stadium, 865 Pi‘ilani St. 808.959.7389.

Art and Traditions of Hula at Kilauea Saturday, Nov. 19 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Kumu Maile Yamanaka presents a handson educational lesson in basic hula from 10:30-11:30 a.m., lei making from noon - 1 p.m. and basic ‘ukulele/Hawaiian music from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center

❖ H A P P E N I N G S ❖

Spotlight:

Hawai‘i Wildlife Center Grand Opening

Saturday, Nov. 19 Kapa‘au The new Hawai‘i Wildlife Center’s mission is to protect, conserve and aid in the recovery of Hawai‘i’s native wildlife through hands-on treatment, research, training, science education and cultural programs.

The 4,500-square-foot building includes a wildlife treatment facility, an interpretive lanai and an education pavilion. The festive grand opening is 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Kumu Hula Raylene Ha‘alelea Kawaiaea is conducting the blessing.

After remarks by invited dignitaries and symbolic untying of a maile lei, Kohala

Hamakua Artisans’ Guild 9th Annual Holiday Studio Tour Middle School students provide tours of the facility for guests. Hula and Hawaiian music by slack key guitarist John Keawe.

The Hawai‘i Wildlife Center becomes the first state-of-the-art response facility in the Pacific islands exclusively for native wildlife. Visit HawaiiWildlifeCenter.org to learn more or make a donation.

Photo by Rob Shallenberger drop off, contact Lily, 808.966.6354 or 808.938.2387.

Aloha Saturday

Bazaar and Car/Bike Show

Saturday, Nov. 19 These monthly programs feature musical performances by Hawai‘i Island musicians and hula halau, along with presentations by community groups. Also featured are authentic arts and crafts vendors and food booths. Noon – 4 p.m. Kalakaua Park. Free.

808.961.5711 or visit ehcc.org.

Saturday, Nov. 19 Kealakekua Arc of Kona presents its 15th annual fundraiser Bazaar and Car/Bike show 9 a.m.

- 2 p.m. The Car/Bike Show is held in the Konawaena High School parking lot below the cafeteria while the Bazaar is at the Arc of Kona facility above the high school. The family event features Trash and Treasure (a giant yard sale), plant sales, a silent auction, entertainment all day, ono food and show-quality cars and motorcycles.

808.323.2626.

Saturday, Nov. 19 Kailua-Kona “Satyagraha” by Glass is performed by the esteemed Metropolitan Opera, live on the big-screen HD TV at Makalapua Stadium Cinemas. 12:55 p.m., Makalapua Stadium Cinemas. The Met’s visually extravagant production that the Washington Post calls “a profound and beautiful work of theater.”

Richard Croft is back for an encore engagement singing the role of Gandhi in this unforgettable opera about a humble man leading his people to freedom. Sung in Sanskrit with English translation provided simultaneously on the screen. $24, $22 senior, $20 student with ID.

Kea‘au Seed Exchange Saturday, Nov. 19 Kea‘au Community members, gardeners, and farmers are invited to stop by Kea‘au Youth Business Center in Kea‘au Shopping Center 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. to share seeds and growing tips with fellow plant enthusiasts.

All seeds are given freely or traded. Please bring pre-cleaned, pest-free, GMO-free and non-invasive material. Seed donations prior to the event are welcome as well. For more information or to pre-arrange seed

Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 19 - 20 Waimea to Pa‘auilo Hamakua Artisans Guild members will open their studios once again for this year’s free, self-guided tour. From 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. artwork is available for sale at studios from Waimea to Pa‘auilo, featuring demonstrations including glass blowing, painting, jewelry, mosaics and stained glass. Meet fine local artists in their working environments, and purchase (or win!) a lovely art piece. hamakuaartists.com

Annual Invitational Wreath Exhibit Saturday, Nov. 19 – Jan. 2, 2012 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Gallery artists—working in a wide variety of media, materials, and techniques— present a creative and unique collection of one-of-a-kind wreaths, from the whimsical to the traditional! Volcano Art

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E Mauna Ana Ka Hula Festival Saturday, Nov. 19 Keauhou This festival honors Hawaiian monarch David Kalākaua – known as the Merrie

Saturday, Nov. 19 Hawi The Living Arts Gallery hosts author/storyteller/anthropologist Hank Wesselman, PhD to share the ancestral wisdom of Hawaiian elder and spiritual teacher, Hale Makua. His book, Bowl of Light, is the written version of this profound sharing between these two remarkable men.

Join us for the stories behind the stories.

Booksigning, reception and refreshments, 4 p.m., Living Arts Gallery, 55-3435 Akoni Pule Hwy. Reservations, 808.889.0739.

Alpin Hong Sunday, Nov. 20 Waimea Take a talented classical pianist and mix in snowboarding, martial arts and video games and you get Alpin Hong, a creative tour de force opening the eyes, ears and imaginations of audiences everywhere.

Hong connects to both young and old with his energy, stunning technique and rare humor. 8 p.m. at the Kahilu Theater. Free!

808.885.6868 or kahilutheatre.org.

         

Saturday, Nov. 19 Kapa`au (See Spotlight) The festive grand opening is 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. with facility tours.

Saturday, Nov. 19 Keauhou A “Celebration of Life” echoes the ancient Hawaiian Makahiki Festival, a time of peace and festivity. Hula, cultural healing arts, Hawaiian games, live music, outdoor expo, arts and crafts, healthy food and tasty cuisine, children’s activities and more.

Free; 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the -Keauhou Beach Resort. hawaiihealthguide.com.

“Bowl of Light” Talk Story

❁Continued on page 82

Hawai‘i Wildlife Center Grand Opening

Hawai‘i Healing Garden – Makahiki Festival

Center Gallery. 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Free; park entrance fees apply. 866.967.7565 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 81

Gallery. Free; park entrance fees apply.

808.967.8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

Metropolitan Opera HD Live

Monarch – credited with reviving the dance of hula in the 1800’s. A dozen hula halau (schools) from Hawai‘i and elsewhere perform ancient and modern hula.

Also crafts by native artisans and Makahiki games. Keauhou Beach Resort. Free. 8 a.m.

- 4 p.m. 808.324.2540.

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❖ H A P P E N I N G S ❖

❁Continued from page 81 Kailua Village Stroll/ Afternoon at Hulihe‘e Palace Sunday, Nov. 20 Kailua-Kona Spend a day strolling Ali‘i Drive with beautiful seaside views, lots of friendly vendors featuring beautiful, locally made crafts, and restaurants offering a wide variety of food choices. The street is closed to traffic from 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. At 4 p.m. on the lawn of Hulihe‘e Palace, join the palace band as it honors Merrie Monarch King David Kalakaua. Free. 808.329.9555; or visit huliheepalace.org.

Volcano Village Art Studio Tour and Sale Friday – Sunday, Nov. 25 – 27 Volcano Village Volcano Village Artists Hui 25th Annual Art Studio Tour and Sale is a Thanksgiving weekend tradition. Meet and buy works directly from the creators and guest artists: photography, fiber art, raku ceramics, painting, pottery, quilts, prints, textiles, wood sculpture, drawings and more. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. daily. 808.987.3472. Maps to the artists’ studios available at businesses and galleries and at VolcanoVillageArtistsHui.com

A Christmas Celebration with the Brothers Cazimero Saturday, Nov. 26 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park The Brothers Cazimero are consummate performers who have made their indelible imprint on the face of contemporary Hawaiian music for the past 30 years. This concert at the Kilauea Theater is sure to be yet another great performance by the talented pair. 7 - 9 p.m.

808.967.8222, or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

82 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Art Helps!

Saturday, Nov. 26 Hilo One-day benefit art sale supports the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society at High Fire Hawai‘i Gallery & Studio, 114 Kamehameha Ave., located on Bayfront near the Tsunami Museum.

Special prices on local art, ceramics and student art. 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. 808.935.8380 or visit highfirehawaii.com.

Mark Twain Talks Story Saturday - Sunday, Nov. 26 - 27 Kainaliu APAC Artistic Director Jerry Tracy returns by popular demand as Mark Twain with a special appearance by Felicity Johnson



as Queen Victoria. Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday 2:30 p.m. Aloha Theater, Kainaliu.

808.322.9924 or visit apachawaii.org.

“Joy to the World” Sunday, Nov. 27 Keauhou The first of three special Christmas holidays presented by the Kona Music Society, this performance features brass, percussion and organ accompanied by the voices of the KMS adult and youth choruses. 4 p.m at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa ballroom. Silent auction begins at 2 p.m. For more information visit: www. konamusicsociety.org.

A rt and Traditions of Hula at Kilauea Tuesday, Nov. 29 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Kumu Maile Yamanaka presents hands-on educational lesson in basic hula from 10:30-11:30 a.m., lei making from noon - 1 p.m. and basic ‘ukulele/Hawaiian music from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Free; park entrance fees apply.

808.9678222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

DECEMBER Hilo Hula Days - 100 Days of Aloha by the Bay All Tuesdays plus Dec. 1, 7, 12, 15, 22, 26 and 29 Live Hawaiian music and hula show, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. rain or shine. Free at the Mo’oheau Bandstand on the Bayfront of Historic Downtown Hilo. Featuring the Mo’oheau Serenaders and special guests.

Free admission and convenient free parking. Coordinated and produced by the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association. 329 Kamehameha Ave. 808.935.8850.

4th Annual Affordable Art Show and Sale Dec. 1 – 30 Waimea All art priced under $250 at Waimea Arts Council Firehouse Gallery at 67-1201 Mamalahoa Highway. Gallery hours: Wed – Sat, 11a.m. – 3 p.m., subject to the availability of docents. The Waimea Arts Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts in North Hawai‘i.

Chris O’Riley and Carter Brey Friday, Dec. 2 Waimea A classical and contemporary music crossover artist par extraordinaire, Chris O’Riley’s poetic piano interpretations dazzle both young and old. He teams with Carter Brey, an acclaimed, multi-prize winning concert cellist, whose chamber music performance resume is among the best in the business. 8 p.m., Kahilu Theatre.

808.885.6868 or visit kahilutheatre.org.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” Dec. 2 – 18 Kainaliu A hilarious tale of overachievers’ angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. A Tony Awardwinning musical performed by APAC (Aloha Performing Arts Company) at the Aloha Theater. 7:30 p.m. Fridays – Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Reserved seating.

Tickets sold one hour prior to showtime, at 808.322.9924 or apachawaii.org.

Metropolitan Opera HD Live Saturday, Dec. 3 Kailua-Kona “Rodelinda” by Handel is performed by the esteemed Metropolitan Opera, live on the big-screen HD TV at Makalapua Stadium Cinemas. 12:55 p.m. Royal intrigue sur

       

     

    

❖ H A P P E N I N G S ❖ rounds the Queen of Lombardy. Renee Fleming, sensational in the original 2004 run of Stephen Wadsworth’s much heralded Met premiere production, reprises the title role. Sung in Italian with English translation provided simultaneously on the screen. $24, $22 senior, $20 student with ID.

Holualoa Music and Light Festival Saturday, Dec. 3 Holualoa Enjoy the lighting of the town Christmas tree, hear various musicians perform Christmas music throughout the evening at stages around the village and receive treats from the galleries and shops in this charming art colony in the middle of Kona coffee country. You may even see Santa himself! 5:30 – 8: 30 p.m. 808.322.8484 or visit holualoahawaii.com.

Christmas at Hulihe‘e Palace Saturday, Dec. 3 Kailua-Kona This gala holiday fundraising celebration at the historic Hulihe‘e Palace features a festival of decorated Christmas trees, live and silent auctions and live musical entertainment. A benefit for Habitat for Humanity and the Daughters of Hawai‘i.

5 p.m. 808.756.8928.

Waimea Christmas Fair and Twilight Parade

Saturday, Dec. 3 Kohala Coast Formerly held at the Kona Village Resort, this culinary scholarship fundraiser moves to The Fairmont Orchid Hawai‘i. Enjoy cuisine by top island chefs, handcrafted ales, wines and Kona coffee, plus entertainment, spectacular gingerbread creations by culinary students and a live auction. Presented by the American Culinary Foundation, Kona Kohala Chefs Association. 5:30 – 8 p.m. 808.329.2522 or visit fairmont.com/orc/ChristmasattheFairmont.

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Jingle Bell Pahoa Rock Parade Saturday, Dec. 3 Pahoa Pahoa Holiday Parade, 9:30 a.m. Accepting entries for floats. Email newswoman@mac. com, friend Mainstreet Pahoa on Facebook, or stop by either Puna Style or Jeff Hunt Surfboards to pick up entry forms. Call 808.938.8592 for more information. Happy Holidays!

“The Messiah” Sunday, Dec. 4 Kailua-Kona This perennial holiday choral work by Handel is performed by the orchestra and chorus of the Kona Music Society. Audience members may also “sing along” if they request a musical score in advance. 4 p.m. at the Makaeo Pavilion at Old Kona Airport State Park. Tickets: 808.334.9880 or visit konamusicsociety.org.

Christmas Holidays Musical Sampler Sunday, Dec. 4 Kailua-Kona Celebrate the Christmas holidays in song with this concert of traditional and Yuletide season songs presented by the Kona Music Society. Be casual and come

❁Continued on page 84 Explore Hawaii's Beauty Above & Below the Sea aboard MARIAN, a unique custom built

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 83

Saturday, Dec. 3 Waimea An anticipated annual event in Waimea, this glowing celebration features a day full of arts, crafts, music and numerous Yuletide season activities all over town, capped by a festive parade – including Santa and a brigade of lighted trucks from historic Church Row to Waimea Park.

Starts 10 a.m. with parade at 5:30 p.m.

Free. 808.936.0670 or visit waimeatown.org.

Christmas at The FairmontDining With the Chefs

❖ H A P P E N I N G S ❖

❁Continued from page 83 as you are to this free community event.

4 p.m. at the events pavilion at the Old Kona Airport State Park. Beach chairs and mats welcomed! For more information visit www.konamusicsociety.org.

“Georgia O’Keeffe’s Hawai’i”

84 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

Sunday - Monday, Dec. 4 - 5 Volcano and Hilo Patricia Jennings was 12 in 1939 when her family hosted Georgia O’Keeffe in Hana, Maui. She guided O’Keeffe for two weeks and has authored a book about their time together. Patricia shares her

stories and reads from “Georgia O’Keeffe’s Hawai’i,” which also features O’Keeffe’s Hawai’i paintings, 50 period photos, and O’Keeffe’s letters from Hawai’i. Dec. 4, 3 p.m., Volcano Art Center, Niaulani Campus, free, 808-967.8222; and Dec. 5, 7 p.m., Lyman Museum, Hilo (free to members; $3 non-members), 808-935.5021 or visit lymanmuseum.org.

educational lesson in basic hula from 10:30-11:30 a.m., lei making from noon - 1 p.m. and basic ‘ukulele/Hawaiian music from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Free; park entrance fees apply.

808.967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

Art and Traditions of Hula at Kilauea

Dec. 9 – Mar. 3, 2012 Hilo Hawai‘i’s famous volcanoes are the focus of this three-month exhibit that features historic paintings, photographs, film foot-

Tuesday, Dec. 6 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Kumu Maile Yamanaka presents hands-on

Hawai’i’s Volcanoes: 1800s to Present

age, written accounts, volcanic specimens and film footage of Kīlauea eruptions as early as the 1930s. 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Monday – Saturday at the Lyman Museum.

808.935.5021 or visit lymanmuseum.org.

Metropolitan Opera HD Live Saturday, Dec. 10 Kailua-Kona “Faust” by Gounod is performed by the esteemed Metropolitan Opera, live on the big-screen HD TV at Makalapua Stadium Cinemas. 12:55 p.m., Makalapua Stadium Cinemas, Kona. Classic retelling of the Faust legend portrays how the elderly

❖ H A P P E N I N G S ❖ scholar sells his soul to the devil and finds he is transformed into a handsome young gentleman. He and Mefistofeles set out into the world together. Tony-award director, Des McNuff updates the story to the first half of the 20th century with a production that won praise in London last season. Sung in French with English translation provided simultaneously on the screen. $24, $22 senior, $20 student with ID.

Holiday Lights Celebration Saturday, Dec. 10 Volcano Village A family event sure to delight youngsters and those young at heart! This colorful Christmas tree and light display features a children’s tree ornament contest plus entertainment, caroling, marshmallow roasting, refreshments and a visit by Santa.

Volcano Art Center Niaulani Campus. 3 – 6 p.m. 808.967.8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

Kona Community Christmas Parade Saturday, Dec. 10 Kailua-Kona An anticipated holiday event enjoyed by both young and old, residents and visitors.

Business and community groups, musical and choral groups and others take part in this colorful parade, which starts 5 p.m. on Ali‘i Drive, paradesinkona.com.

Saturday, Dec. 10 Volcano Village Jazz up your Christmas social calendar with this musical performance by local boy Junior “Volcano” Choy and his hot trumpet as he leads the Volcano Art Center Jazz Ensemble. A special musical guest may join him, 7 p.m. Volcano Art Center Niaulani campus. 808.967.8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

Spotlight:

Saturday, Dec. 17 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park See traditional hula and chant performed outdoors on the hula platform overlooking Kīlauea Crater, featuring Kahula ‘o Nawahine Noho Pu‘ukapu at 10:30 a.m.; Hawaiian cultural demonstrations at Volcano Art Center Gallery, 9:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. Free; park entrance fees apply.

808.967.8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

Hilo Elks Annual “World of Magic” Saturday, Dec. 17 Hilo The annual show is 11 a.m. at the Palace Theater. The young and the young at heart are invited to join in the fun, featuring local entertainment with a special visit from Santa. Admission by donation.

808.935.1717.

Kailua Village Stroll/ Afternoon at Hulihe‘e Palace Sunday, Dec. 18 Kailua-Kona Spend a day strolling Ali‘i Drive with beautiful seaside views, lots of friendly vendors featuring beautiful, locally made crafts, and restaurants offering a wide variety of food choices. Street closed to vehicle traffic 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. At 4 p.m. on the lawn of Hulihe‘e Palace, enjoy an afternoon of hula, remembering Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Free. 808.329.9555; or visit huliheepalace.org.

Mokuaikaua Church Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Saturday, Dec. 24 Kailua-Kona Christmas eve service at Hawai‘i’s first Christian church (established 1820) is always a beautiful and moving experience.

All are welcome 8 – 10 p.m. on Ali‘i Drive

14th Annual Mochi Pounding at Historic Wailea Village

Saturday, Dec. 31 Hakalau The traditional mochi (rice cake) pounding for the New Year is 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Akiko’s Buddhist Bed and Breakfast in historic Wailea Village at Hakalau. Come and experience what now has become a tradition for many locals and visitors alike at the quiet little plantation village. Make mochi-tsuki (traditional rice cakes) the

in the heart of Kailua Village. 808.329.6718 or visit mokuaikaua.org.

Art and Traditions of Hula at Kilauea Tuesday, Dec. 27 Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Kumu Maile Yamanaka presents hands-on educational lesson in basic hula from 10:30-11:30 a.m., lei making from noon - 1 p.m. and basic ‘ukulele/Hawaiian music from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery. Free; park entrance fees apply.

808.967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org.

14th Annual Mochi Pounding at Historic Wailea Village Saturday, Dec. 31 Hakalau (See Spotlight) The traditional Mochi (rice cake) Pounding for the New Year is from

“old-fashioned” way. Everyone takes his turn at pounding the glutinous sticky rice for good luck. Fire building starts 6 a.m. to steam the rice. Hearty local-style lunch for $5. New Year’s crafts, calligraphy and floral arrangements, plantation stories, Okinawan taiko drumming, Hawaiian entertainment and more. Great cultural mix of everything that makes Hawai‘i so special. Park at Hakalau Baseball Park. 808.963.6422 or email msakaiko@ hawaii.rr.com for more information.

8 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Akiko’s Buddhist Bed and Breakfast in historic Wailea Village at Hakalau.

COMING IN JANUARY “Photographing Papahanaumokuakea” Wednesday, Jan. 4 Waimea A travel adventure with photographer Wayne Levin to the Papahanaumokaukea National Marine Monument in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, a realm of islands and atolls almost untouched by modern human civilization. A unique and pristine environment. 7 p.m. Free community event. Kahilu Theatre. 808.885.6868 or visit kahilutheatre.org.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 85

A Night of Hot Jazz with Junior Choy

Na Mea Hawai‘i Hula Kahiko Performance

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They provide concrete treatments to residences and commercial properties, creating the look of tile, brick, stone, staining, epoxies, stencils, and company logos.

The father and son team returned to the Big Island in 2005 to start a family business that could grow with the islands, they say. “We lived here in the 1970s and 80s and couldn’t wait to return.”

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 87

inonna Tina Cerezo was pregnant with their fifth child when Aloha Kona Kids was born. The oldest of three siblings that today share in the store’s ownership, she and her husband, Eric, (a Hawai‘i County Police Officer who passed away five years ago) wanted the best for their baby boy,, From left to right – In rear: Winonna Cerezo, Skyler Cerezo (Winonna’s son), Kahea Tina Winonna says. “So we Soberano, Silas Tina Soberano (in Kahea’s decided to open a baby tummy). In front: Nicole Cerezo, (Winonna’s boutique that would step-daughter), Savannah Cerezo (Winonna’s daughter), Sage Tina Soberano (Kahea’s bring the latest and greatest baby products to daughter), Seth Tina Soberano (Kahea’s son).

Not pictured are Sierra and Shayla DelaCruz, the Big Island.” also Winonna’s daughters.

With some research, passion and an “amazing support system,” the Tina kids—Winonna Tina Cerezo, Kahea Tina Soberano and Pilipo Tina— opened Aloha Kona Kids.

With eight babies as inspiration (and still growing) the store continues to grow, too.

At first the family business had a small kiosk at Ali‘i Gardens, then they opened their first store at the Kona International Market in 2006. Two years later, Aloha Kona Kids expanded and moved to the brand new Kona Commons.

They have adjusted to the ups and downs of the economy over the past few years, says Winonna. “ We have been blessed with amazing customers that have shopped with us from the day we opened.”

Our market is “from birth to surf,” she said. “We carry everything from prenatal to elementary-school-age products. Belly casts and journals, cribs and nursery furniture, strollers and carseats, nap mats and toddler beds—we have everything for your growing keiki.”

The Tina siblings were born and raised on the Big Island.

All attended Kamehameha Schools on O’ahu and returned to Kona. Kahea now lives on O’ahu with her husband and three children and manages the Aloha Kona Kids rental program from home.

“We also have expanded our business to include quality baby products for rental,” says Kahea. “We provide almost anything our guests would need while on vacation to the Big Island. Highchairs, cribs, strollers, children’s bikes, beach tents, toddler beds. We also hold informational classes and offer baby registry and personal shopping.”

Address: Kona Commons, 74-5450 Makala Blvd, E107, Kailua-Kona Phone: 808.854.5369 Email: alohakonakidsllc@hotmail.com Website: www.alohakonakids.com

One Vendor. One Bill.

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Only when you dial.

The Life in Business...

Tax planning is a year round event!

Aaron’s...Blue Kalo

Paula Wilson, EA • Action Business Services

88 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

808-329-3403

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Manuel Roberto, CRPC® Assistant Vice President Financial Advisor

(808) 322-1584 • (808) 640-2643 78-6831 Ali’i Drive, Suite 413 Kailua Kona, HI 96740

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management makes available products and services offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (MLPF&S) and other subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation. MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, member SIPC. Investment products: Are Not FDIC Insured

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May Lose Value

Aaron and Vinel Sugino

elling poi was not as easy as Aaron Sugino thought. So, with the poi that wasn’t selling, he started putting it in his mom’s (Aunty Bea’s) cookie recipe. And that’s how he started making the “macpoichip” cookies... and that is how a business called Aaron’s Blue Kalo got started.

Even though Aaron had earned his BA degree in therapeutic recreation in 1984 and worked as a social worker, a farmland venture led him in a new direction. He wanted to purchase land in Waimea for his parent, but the realtor (a family friend) persuaded him to buy land in his home town of Hakalau and pay off the land with vegetables and fruit that he would grow. So in 1986 he purchased a little more than five acres and became a part-time farmer as well as a full-time social worker. He made his first $9 with green onions. Then he started to plant taro, corn, string beans, eggplant and sweet potato and decided to add value to his products by making poi. The rest is history.

Today he and his wife, Vinel, have a sweet little shop on Banyan Drive, in front of the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, and it offers all kinds of delicious treats. Aaron’s original “Macpoichip” cookie is still the most popular. In addition, they sell crispy cookies made with the sweet potato, ulu (breadfruit), lilikoi, coconut and other non-tropical cookie ingredients. And then there are the chips Aaron makes from both purple and yellow sweet potato, taro and ulu (breadfruit). He also makes a banana bread with poi and sweet potato. Yum. The business uses the Hakalau Incubator Kitchen to process chips, cookies and baked goods. Vinel’s sister Wendi helps out with the baking, and you can usually find Vinel in the store welcoming both the tourist and local customers.

She also has a degree in accounting.

Even though Aaron’s Blue Kalo attracts the many tourists along Banyan Drive, “Our primary market is locals,” says Aaron. “We have supportive customers from Honolulu, Maui and Kaua‘i that come to visit us when they’re in town. Our biggest challenge is growth. We do not have the equipment to keep up with the demand. We have markets wanting to carry our products and people wanting to do fundraisers and we have to turn people away because we can only do so much with what we have.”

The entire family was born and raised on the Big Island.

“We all have family roots in Hakalau,” adds Vinel, proudly.

Find Aaron’s Blue Kalo at 71 Banyan Drive, Cabana D (in front of the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel).

Phone: 808.935.8085 Email: Aarons.bluekalo@yahoo.com Visit us on Facebook.

The Life in Business...

R

Kadota Liquor and K’s Drive In

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Fax 808.769.4800 PCO 1267

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 89

yan Kadota, thirdgeneration owner of Kadota Liquor and K’s Drive In, grew up in the family business. “Both Kadota Liquors and K’s Drive In were started in 1964 by my grandparents, Thomas and Kazue Kadota. They were affectionately known as Mr. and Mrs. ‘K’ to most of the community. I personally grew up in Kadota Liquor, it was my first job,” Ryan says.

Founders Thomas and Kazue “After the 1960 tsunami Kadota (Mr. and Mrs. “K”) destroyed the Kadota Brothers’ Grocery Store, Thomas and Kazue opened both businesses and both have been Hilo institutions for over 45 years,” he says and describes the store’s customer base as being “as wide and diverse as Hawai‘i itself. ” Active with the businesses for the majority of his life, Ryan has witnessed changes in the business climates. “At one time there were a number of liquor retailers throughout town. Now we remain the last of the independent liquor stores in Hilo. I like to think of ourselves as the premier liquor purveyor in East Hawai‘i.

Our overall selection is vast and one of the best on the island, if not in Hawai‘i. We also take pride in our customer service, whether it’s your first visit or if you’re a regular.”

If you’re unsure about the kinds of liquor or wine you want, the store has lots of expertise. “Our wine buyer has extensive knowledge of wine, sake, beer and spirits, with certifications from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) and Sake Service Institute. It is that knowledge and expertise which sets us apart from the national chains,” he says.

Born and raised in Hilo, Ryan Kadota also accumulated extensive knowledge throughout the years. “I would work at Kadota Liquor during my school vacations, often doing supplemental wine purchasing based upon my own research of books and periodicals. I went to college on the mainland and worked there after graduation. Throughout my time in Southern California, I stayed involved in the wine scene as a consumer, cultivating relationships with other retailers as well as producers. My spirits education would at first be self-taught through reading and tasting, then later I would polish that with formal classes. I was in California for almost 20 years until I returned to Hilo in 2010 to the family and Kadota Liquor.”

The Kadota family of businesses includes Kadota Liquor, K’s Drive In & Mr. K’s Recycling and Redemption. “We appreciate the support of the Big Isle community. It has been a privilege to serve you for the past four decades and we look forward to serving your beverage needs going into the future!” Ryan exclaims.

Location: 194 Hualalai St., Hilo Phone: 808.935.1802 Email: ryan@kadotas.com Website: www.kadotas.com

Mason

Ka Puana

90 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

—THE REFRAIN

Interpreted and Illustrated by Dietrich Varez

P

ele and Hi‘iaka is a great epic of Hawaiian mythology, originally passed through oral tradition. One of Hawai‘i’s most celebrated artists, Dietrich Varez has retold this complex story through simplified text and his iconic block-print art. Presented in a picture-book style, Pele and Hi‘iaka features never-before-published artwork.

Pele and Hi‘iaka, A Tale of Two Sisters, by Dietrich Varez, was released October 1, 2011, by Petroglyph Press. Besides a printed version, the book will be serialized on www.PetroglyphPress.com, with a new installment available for free viewing on the first and sixteenth of each month. Available at bookstores and gift shops throughout Hawai‘i, on Amazon.com, eBay, and directly from the publisher.

For more information contact Petroglyph Press tollfree at 888-666-8644, petroglyphpress@hawaiiantel. net, 160 Kamehameha Ave., Hilo, HI 96720, or visit www.PetroglyphPress.com.

Also Visit www.DVarez.com.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 91

Fine Oriental Carpets & Hawaiian Rugs®

92 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011