Have You Ever Known a WWOOFer? They’re Helping Farmers All Over the Big Island!
By Hadley Catalano Dana Ronnquist had always been interested in permaculture and organic farming. Growing up in Westchester County, New York, an hour outside the city, the 24-year-old hadn’t had the opportunity to get hands-on experience in what she felt…
Fluid Ocean Portraits: Victoria McCormick’s Images Reflect a Trusting Relationship with Marine Creatures
By Marya Mann Dances with the Ocean Heavenly light filters through the ocean surface into the underwater world, birthplace of life on Earth. Fine art photographer Victoria McCormick slips into this liquid womb of coral reef and eagle rays, swimming…
A Dream To Reality: The First Kona Jazz Festival—Brittni Paiva and Cyril Pahinui Talk Story
By Colin John Wouldn’t it be wonderful if…” is an oft-heard phrase when people are dreaming or thinking about possibilities. One such dream that has become a reality is the First Annual Kona Jazz Festival, set to take place at…
Kava Culture—Facts and Fiction
By Barbara Fahs In Western culture, the herbal supplement Kava Kava, was popular as a sleep aid and anti-anxiety remedy during the late 1990s, until the negative results of a European study were widely publicized. (Some say pharmaceutical companies initiated…
Hidden Treasures: Hilo Bay Café
By Devany Vickery-Davidson Hilo Bay Café sits in an unpretentious strip mall in a busy Wal-Mart shopping center, and regardless of what the location suggests, they are consistently producing some of the finest and most innovative food on Hawai’i Island.…
Crafting the Sacred Pahu Drum
By Fern Gavelek The drum selected him—not vise versa. Kumu Hula Aloha Victor of Halau Kala‘akeakauikawekiu recalls when he purchased his first pahu (drum) from Rodney “Uncle Kala” Willis as if it were yesterday. It was October, 2005. “We were…
Used Veggie Oil Fuels Fabulous Glass Art
By Andrea Dean and Karen Valentine In their studio on the Hamakua Coast, glass blowing artists Hugh Jenkins and Stephanie Ross move around each other in an intricate dance done with hot glass on the end of metal pipes. They…
Who Is That Woman Behind the Green Cape? Green Power Girl…Super Hero!
By Andrea Dean The day started like any other. Gigi Starr got up in the morning, ate breakfast and went to school. She was the new girl at Goodall Middle School and was already feeling like the lone wolf of…
Walking In the Footsteps of a Kahuna Elder
By Marya Mann “There is no separation between one lifetime and the next lifetime, so therefore, it’s time for all of us to wake up.”—Kupuna Hale Kealohalani Makua, Native Hawaiian Elder Elder’s Council Meetings in Bali & Hawaii, 2002-2003 You…
More Than a Wooden Big-Top: Soaring High at S.P.A.C.E. in Puna
By Alan D. McNarie Juggler Graham Ellis, who founded Puna’s Hiccup Circus in 1984 to educate and inspire local kids through circus arts, longed for a home base. For nearly two decades, Ellis, his performer friends and students had performed…
Then & Now: Wai‘ōhino
By Ann C. Peterson Driving through the sleepy little village of Wai‘ōhinu, tucked into a lush, green valley near the larger village of Na‘alehu, it’s hard to believe that it was once the economic hub of Ka‘u. Rich in early…
Teens Take the Stage in SONG: Stars Of the Next Generation
By Hadley Catalano A group of 15 teenagers—unsupervised and listening to music—gather inside on a sunny Sunday afternoon in early November. It’s hot inside the old attic space of the Aloha Performing Arts Center LOFT and the kids are sweating.…
Paris Without the Jet Lag: Restaurant La Bourgogne
By Fern Gavelek If you think Restaurant La Bourgogne is Kona’s best-kept culinary secret—think again. Booked way in advance for Valentine’s Day and other major holidays, the classic French restaurant is abuzz with new and loyal, satisfied patrons dining on…
An Amazing Thing Is the Humble Gourd: Ipu and the Rediscovery of an Art Medium
By Fern Gavelek With no pottery, metal or glass, early Hawaiians found a myriad of creative ways to use gourds. From water carriers to ossuary urns, from musical instruments to canoe bailers, they could be plucked from a vine in…
Flower Power: Outdoor Circles Make a Beautiful Difference
By Ann C. Peterson If you’ve noted that Hawaii’s beautiful scenery isn’t marred by a cacophony of huge billboards, you can thank The Outdoor Circle. “Clean, Green, and Beautiful” —that simple mission forged almost 100 years ago—has helped preserve and…
Feng Shui Hawaiian Style: Earth Energy for Stability and Success in a Changing World
By Marta Barreras, Master Feng Shui Practitioner Have you noticed a rising sense of anxiety in the air lately? Changes in jobs, changes in economic status and especially changes in our Earth’s atmosphere are provoking millions of people to be…
The Innkeeper and His Wife: Nostalgia and Romance from the Heyday of the Kona Inn
By Ann C. Peterson Lee Taylor walks into the doctor’s office in Kailua-Kona, and then there are four of us sitting in typical waiting-room fashion with our faces down, or in an old magazine — but not for long. I…
Ka Puana: Everything I Needed to Know About Life I Learned from Potluck
By Catherine Bridges Tarleton “We’re having potluck on Tuesday,” said my boss. “For the January birthdays.” She nodded at the paper on her desk. “What do I sign you up for?” On no. Potluck. The Initiation. What do I bring…
Jim Sargent Builds Life into Hawi Town
By Hadley Catalano It is not easy being Jim Sargent, but it is rewarding. Sitting behind a large wooden desk in the office of his real estate mortgage business, Sargent could, at any one time, be discussing window trim, scheduling…
One Woman’s Tree of Life Bears Beautiful Art: Caren Loebel-Fried Retells the Legends of Hawaii in Block Prints and Books
By Marya Mann, Ph.D. Caren Loebel-Fried is in love with nature, art, mythology, dreams, and the study of cultures that live “at one” with nature. All these loves blend together eloquently in her creations. One of Hawaii’s most beloved myths,…
‘Ae, Poni Mō’ī ‘o Kalākaua
Na Kumu Keala Ching Aia ho’i (‘o) Ka’ōnohiokalā I ka hale o ha’eha’e ē Pi’i a’e ka manu, ‘Iolani Kaulana ia, he hale Ali’i ē Holo ka moku, puni ka honua E ō mai he Ali’i o Hawai’i nei Palapala…
The “Cool Factor” Bonds Youth and Farming
By Andrea Dean Dashiell Hammet was a famous detective novelist. Dashiell Kuhr, of North Kohala, is the energetic, articulate, handsome (dare I say dashing) driving force behind the Hawai‘i Youth Agriculture Program and the operations of Uluwehi Farm and Nursery,…
Art Under Foot: It’s More Than Just a Rug
By Karen Valentine Walking barefoot inside your tropical Hawaiian home gives you an appreciation for the floor covering that’s more than esthetic. The tactile sense now becomes as important as the functionality, maintenance and appearance. One option that may not…
Feng Shui Hawaiian Style: Water for Living with Balance and Prosperity
By Marta Barreras, Master Feng Shui Practitioner There is a beautiful gift that the ancient Hawaiians have passed down through generations: the ability to live in harmony with nature. For centuries, the Hawaiians of old lived with a deep interconnectedness…
Kukui Nut Oil for Beautiful, Healthy Skin
By Barbara Fahs Polynesians of yesterday and today have beautiful skin. This could be due to their use of the oil from our state tree, the kukui, which their ancestors introduced to Hawai‘i around 1600 A.D. Kukui trees and the…
Aunty Mahealani Henry: Righting the Path with Aloha Lokahi
By Marya Mann, PhD Legendary singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole relates the story of Hawaii’s Superman, Maui, who, before Clark Kent, somewhere in the dawn of time, attempted to capture the sun. He went in search of roads, rituals, and knowledge, a…
Storytelling with Color and Canvas: Suzy Papanikolas Makes Hawai‘i’s People Come Alive
By Karen Valentine A painting by Suzy Papanikolas delights the eyes and the imagination. As you walk by it, whether in a gallery or in your own home, it grabs your attention. What is that? It’s not what is in…
Growing Our Own Fuel: Biodiesel Ventures Sprouting Up
By Alan D. McNarie Hawaii‘s lifestyle, for better or worse, depends on cars, trucks and buses. And cars, trucks and buses, unfortunately, depend on oil. Currently most of that oil comes to the island via ships from Alaska or Indonesia.…
Good Tasting and All Hawai’i Grown: Meet the Mind and Muscle Behind Our Local Food Producers
By Fern Gavelek Big Island ranchers are putting meat on the table at local restaurants—whether beef, pork or lamb. In fact, the island boasts about 60 percent of the state’s cattle operations. In addition, the Big Isle is considered the…
Pu’uhonua – A Foundation of Peace
Na Kumu Keala Ching, Nā Wai Iwi Ola, Hawai‘i Āpuni ka honua, he ola Ola ke Akua Mana Loa, he kia‘i Kia‘i ka ‘ike kapu, he Akua Akua mālama Ali‘i Ali‘i mālama Kanaka Kanaka mālama ‘āina ‘Āina hānai Kanaka Kanaka…
![“Most people who new Makua just couldn’t resist being in his presence,” says visionary social architect Jim Channon. “[When I painted this] I tried to capture how he fully occupied the field of energy that he was a part of. He was a much beloved friend to all who had the good luck of knowing him.”](https://keolamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/kahuan-elder-1.jpg)
