The Wow Factor of Chef Sam Choy
By Fern Gavelek He cooks a mean oxtail soup and made poke a nationwide sensation. With 14 cookbooks, several TV shows, a string of celebrity clients, and involvement with numerous restaurants, Chef Sam Choy is a culinary ambassador for Hawai‘i.…
A Journey with Kumu Kawaikapuokalani Frank Hewett
By Karen Valentine This is a story about one who might be called a Hawaiian renaissance man. This man is multi-facetted and multi-talented, with an insatiable drive to serve his culture through sharing his knowledge. Like a tripod that will…
Featured Artists: Andrea Pro & Kirk Shorte
Featured Cover Artist: Andrea Pro Andrea Pro, creator of the woodcut print, Nectar, featured on our front cover, shares her inspiration of creating this art piece, “After a hike in Kīlauea Iki crater at Volcano I emerged into the rainforest…
Beautiful Mele: Mark Saito Shares Aloha Through Song
By Karen Rose There are many ways to aloha with others. Feeling the spirit of aloha is a shared experience, and one of the most meaningful ways to feel this spirit is through song. Local Hawai‘i Island musician Mark Saito…
George Applegate: A Kupuna Looking Out for Hawai‘i Island
By Paula Thomas He talks in arcs of thought as he shares stories about his upbringing, his youth, education, and coming of age. George Applegate, born in Honolulu in 1947 and raised in Hilo, has created a career out of…
Beauty All Around: Young Kohala Artist Elijah Rabang
By Jan Wizinowich Entering Hāwi, on the North Kohala coast, just past Kohala Coffee Mill, you are stopped in your tracks by a wall mural with a stunning scene of frolicking humpback whales. You’ve just stepped into the realm of…
Ray Bumatay: A Canoe Calling
By Brittany P. Anderson The outrigger canoe is one of the most essential and iconic elements of Hawaiian culture. For centuries, kāhuna kālai wa‘a (master canoe carvers) have been guided by their ‘aumākua (ancestral spirits) who live in the ocean…
Woodworking: A Love Story
By Catherine Tarleton Award-winning wood artist Timothy Shafto is part artist, part engineer, and part impresario. A stonemason by trade and self-taught woodworker, Tim presently paints—pours, actually—large epoxy, sand, and wood wall art, using special techniques he has developed over…
Aunty Doreen Henderson: Fascination with Feathers
85 Years of Perpetuating an Elegant, Native Hawaiian Craft By Karen Valentine With the confidence of a master craftsman who is still working and teaching at age 92, Master Kumu Doreen Henderson’s eagle eye marks each student’s feather work and…
Brother Noland: Award-Winning Singer/Songwriter Shares his ‘Less Talk, More Do’ Philosophy
By Karen Rose Ancient wisdom declares it is best for one to pass their days through song, therefore letting their whole life be a song. Hawaiian recording artist Brother Noland, also known as the “Father of Jawaiian Music,” follows this…
Kuha‘o Makana Kawaauhau Case: Downloading from Heaven
By Ma‘ata Tukuafu When Kuha‘o Makana Kawaauhau Case plays music on the piano or organ, he can feel how his melodies affect the people listening. Kuha‘o is a self-taught musician who found his talent at the age of nine when…
Hawai‘i Island’s Champion: Ed Olson at 87 Years Young
By Leilehua Yuen Ed Olson first traveled to O‘ahu in 1959. He had come to teach a swimming pool builder how to use some new equipment. “It was about three weeks after statehood, and I fell in love with the…
Larger Than Life: The Work of Marcia Ray
By Catherine Tarleton “Murals for me are the most important, because they are painted to tell a story,” says Waimea artist Marcia Ray. Four of her murals, and their stories, are stretched across the upper walls of Parker Ranch Center’s…
The Compost King of Hilo UrbFarm
By Brittany P. Anderson As the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and this couldn’t be more true for Michael Pierron, founder of Hilo UrbFarm, as he spins organic waste into garden gold. The Hilo UrbFarm, founded…
Dreams Do Come True: The Musical Journey of Kris Fuchigami
By Denise Laitinen Kris Fuchigami is a study in perseverance. After picking up the ‘ukulele at age 13, the Hawai‘i Island native readily admits he dropped out of band class in school because he struggled with reading music at the…
William McKnight: Ambivalent Artist, Passionate Sculptor
By Paula Thomas William McKnight has cultivated a deep relationship with stone. From the lengths he may go to get a rock from the ocean, a quarry, or on a hillside, to the passion that engulfs him when his creative…
The Alonzo Spirit Band: Music for the Soul
By Ma‘ata Tukuafu It was in 2007 when Alan “Alonzo” Rosen began hearing voices in his head; not crazy voices, but rather, he was hearing notes, lyrics, melodies, and completed songs. After meditation or sometimes in dreams, Alan would hear…
A Special Moment with Irene Midel
“He Lei Ho’oheno O Hilo”: A Cherished Adornment of Hilo By Ku‘ehu Mauga Irene Midel is the epitome of aloha. If her striking floral hairpieces don’t leave a lasting impression on you, her effervescent personality will. At the age of…
Iris Viacrusis: Creating Fashion from Paris to Paradise
By Mālielani Larish Dressed in a velvet azure gown made by Hawai‘i Island fashion designer Iris Viacrusis, and adorned with a peacock feather collar that she had handcrafted herself, Aunty Doreen Henderson graced the 2013 Merrie Monarch stage with an…
Hanauna Ola: Sustaining the Generations through Voyaging
By Jan Wizinowich For centuries, the spirit of the voyaging canoe lay dormant only to be reawakened with a question: Is it possible to sail a voyaging canoe to Tahiti using non-instrument navigation? Now, many years later on Hawaiʽi Island,…
Kainani Kahaunaele: Revitalizing Hawaiian Music
By Mālielani Larish In 1999, after four months of sailing from Hawai‘i to Micronesia as a crewmember of the E Mau—Sailing the Master Home voyage, the day had arrived for Kainani Kahaunaele to give her gift to Mau Piailug. Papa…
Making Life Colorfully Social for our Kūpuna
By Paula Thomas Since 1976, the Hawai‘i Island Adult Care (HIAC) in Hilo has provided quality care for elders and challenged adults as well as support for their families. Their life-enhancing programs include an art program thatʻs been led by…
Meet Hawai‘i’s Dr. Doolittle, Paul Breese
By Ma‘ata Tukuafu When Paul Breese and Jean DeMercer-Breese began co-authoring their book about the history of the Honolulu Zoo, they had no idea it would take ten years to complete. Paul Breese served as director of the zoo from…
One of Hilo’s Unsung Heroes: Mary Matayoshi
By Denise Laitinen A staunch supporter of education, Mary Matayoshi has created programs that have benefited generations of Hawai‘i Island residents. Her work has led to educational opportunities for thousands of people, however her name is not as well known…
In Memorium: Alfreida Kimura Fujita
Alfreida Kimura Fujita, who passed away on July 16, 2017, was a passionate advocate for Kailua-Kona’s rich history, including the Kona Coffee Living History Farm. Alfreida grew up along the Kona Coffee Belt in Hōlualoa, where she lived surrounded by…
Gary Eoff: One Artist’s Voyage
By Jan Wizinowich Like the cordage he weaves, Gary Eoff’s art stretches back through time to honor and connect with the ancestors. Previously from California, Gary and his wife Karen came to Hawaiʽi in 1980 to surf and visit Karen’s…
John Dawson: This Octogenarian is Still Creating Meaningful Art in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
By Denise Laitinen Lots of five-year olds like to draw, but few at that age know they want to be an artist when they grow up. Fewer still grow up to actually become an artist—and a famous one at that,…
Jackie Pualani Johnson: She Really Is Something!
By Britni Schock Growing up, Jackie Pualani Johnson was drawn to drama from a young age. Born and raised in Hilo, Jackie started her journey in theater during high school. After nearly 40 years of working with the UH Hilo…
Darlene Ahuna: Celebrating Traditional Hawaiian Music
By Gayle Kaleilehua Greco The sound of her voice is unmistakable, a resounding ha‘i (falsetto) spun with the grace of serenity. You are in the presence of Darlene Ahuna, a Hawaiian traditionalist singer and musician who has been playing music…
Kalani Pe’a: Hawai‘i Island Born and Bred Artist Brings Home a Grammy
By T. Ilihia Gionson He’s come a long way from the entertainment tent at the Hawai‘i County Fair! As Kalani Pe‘a stood on the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to accept the Grammy for Regional Roots Album…
