Money Does Grow on Trees: Puna Programs Help Backyard Farmers Sell Excess Produce
By Denise Laitinen When I was a kid my dad would say, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” Well, it turns out Dad was wrong. Thanks to the efforts of two separate food co-op programs in Puna, people are tapping into…
Up from the Ashes: Pit-firing Ceramic Vessels with Tim Freeman
By John J. Boyle A close examination of a pit-fired ceramic vessel created by potter and philosopher Tim Freeman reveals details reminiscent of Hawai‘i’s active volcano. The artist, who makes his home near Kīlauea’s burning, living fire, is exploring creation…
Carousel of Aloha: Bringing a Dream to Life
By Alan D. McNarie Juanette Baysa has a dream. It’s not a dream that will lead to an end to all war or a universal source of clean energy or anything that ambitious. It’s just the sort that helps to…
Ka Wehena: Kaulana Hawai‘i
Na Wai Puna o Kona – Na Kupuna Kaulana Hawai’i lā Nā mea Aloha lā Eia ho’i ke ola lā ‘O Hawai’i Kamehameha Hawai’i lā Mō’i ka moku lā Eia ho’i ke ola lā ‘O Hawai’i Eō e Maui lā…
It Was a Hard Day’s Night for Cindy Coats: Now She’s Back, With a Little Help From Her Friends
By Margaret Kearns Holualoa resident Cindy Coats recalls distinctly the moment she declared her chosen profession. “I was 10 years old and had just seen the most incredible movie with my mother,” she says. The movie? It was The Beatles’…
Digital Dream Ready for the Big Screen: Local Animator Involves Hawai‘i Island Youth in Crafting Virtual Realities
By Paula Thomas In a modest rural road in Hakalau, on the Hāmākua Coast, sits a rather quaint, non-descript house. It’s an unlikely locale for a high-tech enterprise; but inside its walls is the animation studio of Geoffrey Blair Hajim,…
The Irrepressible Alice Moon: Downtown Hilo’s Dynamo
By Denise Laitinen It’s a postcard-perfect morning in downtown Hilo, with bright blue skies and Hilo Bay sparkling in the sunlight—the kind of day that makes you feel lucky to live in Hawai‘i. With the Farmers’ Market in full swing…
Ka Wehena: Aia ke Aloha ke Nana Aku (Love is There When We Seek)
Na Kumu Keala Ching ‘Ohu’ohu o ka lani i ‘ike aku Kūlia a’ela ka lā i ka lewa Wahi ola nā kūpuna i lōkahi ai Aia ana ke aloha ke nānā aku Kūlani ka ‘uhane i kupu aku Ākea ka…
A Victorian-Age Indiana Jones: Actor Peter Charlot as Professor Jaggar, Intrepid Scientist/Adventurer
By Alan D. McNarie The gray-haired figure stands on the side of a green mound next to the empty Volcano house in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. “I’m Professor Jaggar,” he tells the group of visitors, “and we’re here to save…
Waimea Plantation Daughter Remembers Georgia O’Keeffe: A Conversation with Patricia Jennings
By Catherine Tarleton “I know you paint flowers and skulls in the desert,” said Patricia Jennings, 12, to her family’s famous dinner guest, “and that you have a wonderful brush technique,” she added, recalling an article she’d read in Time…
Suzi Bond Helps the Stars Shine in Volcano: The Executive Director of KDEN Likes a Challenge
By Alan D. McNarie It’s a rainy November evening in Volcano. A small group of aspiring actors have gathered at the Kilauea Military Camp Theater (KMC) to try out for Kilauea Drama and Entertainment Network’s (KDEN) annual winter musical—this year,…
Keeping the Magic Alive: Sleight of Mind with “Arneleo the Great” and “The Great Barusky”
By Marya Mann Although the element of surprise is the capstone in the magician’s pyramid of tricks, magic is no accident. Just ask two Kona tricksters who found serious commitment in a very funny business. Is it optical illusion or…
Sustainable Hawai‘i Youth Leadership Initiative: Youth Inspire All to Dream of a New Earth
By Marya Mann On the sunlit day, outdoors at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Skyla (“Sky”) D. Graig-Murray, a student at West Hawai‘i Explorations Academy, asks this question: “How often have you asked a young person what is their dream…
Konabob and the Unique Kona Walkingbass
By Shirley Stoffer Bob Stoffer, known as “Konabob” to many people in Hawai’i and around the world, had loved Hawai’i and Hawaiian music for a long time before moving to the island. He listened to Hawaiian music at his bakery…
A Master Chinese Brush Painter: Shirley Pu Wills Practices the Art of Imagination and Chi
By Fern Gavelek It’s both what you see and what you don’t see that create the magic in Chinese brush painting. “The thing about Chinese brush painting is you imagine what’s not there,” says Shirley Pu Wills of Captain Cook.…
Hawaiian Quilting: Creating Treasures, Passed Down from Generation to Generation
By Margaret Kearns Scattered around Hawai‘i Island, small groups of women—and a handful of men—are using passion and knowledge, skill and patience, hands and hearts to save what they say is a dying art. Hawaiian quilting is literally a labor…
A Beloved Daughter Retires: Fanny Au Hoy
By Fern Gavelek She walks through the treasure-filled rooms—fingering the china, straightening a photo frame, smoothing a quilted bedspread and then opening wide an upstairs window. As the fresh air fills the stately bedroom, Aunty Fanny turns around and grins.…
Pages from Cowboy Romance and Reality: Paniolo Preservation Society Saddles Up
By Catherine Tarleton When I was a little girl, I caught horse fever early and as fervently as a suburban D.C. kid could. I read every horse book in two libraries, drew pictures, wrote stories and fought my brother for…
Mushroom in a Bottle: A Gourmet Fungus, from Hamakua to the White House
By Denise Laitinen The mushroom—actually a fungus—grows on a lot of different matter in the wild, from tree logs to cow pies. It’s called “substrate,” as opposed to soil. In cultivation, the substrate makes a difference in the quality and…
Ka Wehena: Ke Ao
Na Kumu Keala Ching Ua hāmama ka ‘īpuka o ke ao Ke ao (i) ‘ike ‘ia o ke ālaula Lālau ho’i ke aloha o nēia ola E ola ka makani (i) lawe aku ai ka ‘i’ini He ‘i’ini i mālama…
The Parrots of Pana‘ewa
By Alan D. McNarie It’s noon on a Wednesday at the Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo, and Jan Comstock and Zoe are having some quality time at a picnic table. Let’s play “find the nut,” says Jan. “Mac nut,” says…
Taro, ‘Ohana and Jerry Konanui
By Marya Mann Lau or Lū’au ~ Leaf Turning over a new leaf this magical year of 2012? Think of making that a taro leaf. For a taste of the divine, simmer it into a soothing soup with coconut cream…
A Passionate Kanaka Maoli*: Keoki Kahumoku—Inspiring the Next Generation with ‘Ukulele, Guitar and Life Skills
*Native of this land By Shirley Stoffer Keoki 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…
Gary Washburn: Jazzing Up a High School Band
By Catherine Tarleton It’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…
The Art of Clayton Bryant Young: Former Green Beret Creates Paintings with Spirit
By Karen Valentine When 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,…
Fallen Trees Turn to Art with Tai Lake and Family—Fine Furniture and Art Collaboratives
By Margaret Kearns At 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…
Crafting Papahe‘enalu: From Tree to Sea: Traditional Wooden Surfboard Shapers
By Hadley Catalano Every surfer remembers that first surfing experience… When 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…
Pilgrimage to the Sky: Honoring Mauna Kea—Kuahiwi Kūha‘o i ka Mālie: Mountain Standing Alone in the Calm
By Marya Mann The 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…
Growing a Flavorful Agribusiness: Vanilla
By Denise Laitinen When 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…
Navigating the Universe from Mauna Kea: Science and Sensitivity
By Marya Mann On the astronomical clock, our sun isn’t very old. Estimated by scientists to be 4.5 billion years young, the mighty sun helped spawn the early Earth. Out of light, action and inter-planetary collisions – or collaborations —…
