Longtime Honolulu-based Hawaiian fashion, gift and souvenir retailer Hilo Hattie was sold today to a California company.

Hilo Hattie’s seven stores on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island—as well as its online retail store—will continue business as usual.

The 45-year-old company—and self-prolaimed “Store of Hawaii”—was purchased for an undisclosed sum by TOC Inc., which also owns the Hawaii franchise of Fantastic Sams hair salons.

"I have the utmost confidence in TOC Inc's ability to successfully grow the company," said Jim Romig, Hilo Hattie’s longtime chairman, in a statement. Romig founded the company as Kaluna Hawaii Sportswear on Kauai in 1963, moving to Oahu two years later to manufacture Hawaiian fashions.

The company changed its name to Hilo Hattie in 1979—in honor of Hawaii musician Clarissa Haili, who took her name from the 1932 hapa-haole song, “When Hilo Hattie Does the Hilo Hop.”  The company has grown into one of the largest and most world-recognized retail brands of Hawaiian-themed apparel.

TOC Inc. principal Ted Nelson said in the statement that he would continue building and expanding the Hilo Hattie brand. Hilo Hattie has two stores in Southern California, and will open a new 20,000 square-foot flagship store at Waikiki’s Royal Hawaiian Center in 2009.
  

The May/June 2008 issue of HAWAII Magazine features a story on cartoonist Robert Ripley’s fascination with our Islands. Ripley created Ripley’s Believe It or Not! —the strange-but-true trivia-filled newspaper cartoon series. And, reports writer Greg Daugherty, he visited Hawaii four or five times during his brief, illustrious life.

The “believe it or not” Ripley nuggets you’ll find in our story include:

• How the amateur anthropologist—portrayed as a hardy world adventurer—actually preferred to travel in the lap of luxury.

• How most of his “Believe or Not” items were actually uncovered by an associate combing the shelves at the New York Public Library.

• How he saw water falling “uphill” in Oahu’s Nuuanu Valley.

• How he discovered the “House of Everlasting Fire”— better known to most of us as Kilauea volcano’s Halemaumau crater.

You’ll find the full text of Daugherty’s story—along with vintage cartoons and photos from Ripley’s Hawaii sojourns—in the current issue. Here's an excerpt:

When Robert Ripley arrived in Hawaii for the first time in 1922, the young “Believe It or Not!” cartoonist recorded a couple of surprises in his dispatches home. First was the genuine friendliness of the Hawaiians who greeted his ship. Second, the hula turned out to be less risqué than he had expected—or maybe hoped.

From his first trip to the Islands, Ripley was amazed by their natural wonders, which would figure in his cartoons for decades to come. Many he sketched at the actual sites, later transforming the sketches into finished artwork at his drawing board in New York.

Ripley's interest in all things Hawaiian went so far that he hired a well-known Chinese-Hawaiian author, actress and lecturer named Li Ling Ai and gave her the fancy title: director of the "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" Far Eastern Department.

You'll find HAWAII Magazine in most bookstores nationwide. In addition to print subscriptions, we now offer digital subscriptions and single copies as well.
 
 

Perhaps you’ve heard the old hapa haole hula anthem, “May Day is ‘Lei Day’ in Hawaii.”

The song is still largely true. Each year on May 1, many residents statewide celebrate Hawaiian culture and island culture by attending music and hula shows, sporting their best aloha wear and wearing colorful floral lei.

But Honolulu politicos—Mayor Mufi Hannemann, most prominently—are hoping to prove May Day is indeed Lei Day this year with the construction of Guinness world-record-breaking floral lei in Waikiki’s Kapiolani Park. Minimum length? One mile when the string of flowers is finally tied together. 

Thousands of fresh flowers, hundreds of volunteers and two full days will be necessary to accomplish the task. And if you’re in town on May 1, you could participate in the world-record attempt as one of many residents and visitors holding the lei when the mayor connects the ends.

We’re thinking seriously cool photo op for the mayor (and you) here.

The city’s 81st annual Lei Day celebration in Kapiolani Park will also feature live music and hula, demonstrations and exhibits of Hawaiian craftmaking, and lots of colorful and fragrant lei for sale.

You’ll find a complete schedule of Lei Day celebration events here. More information about the city’s Lei Day celebration and Guinness world-record attempt is here.
  

One of the cooler things about my job is escaping the office on Oahu every couple of months, flying to one of the neighbor islands and getting to call what I do there work.

I’m on the island of Lanai this weekend, taking in some scenery, activities and food. You’ll see everything I collect while I'm here in future HawaiiMagazine.com Web posts and HAWAII Magazine articles.

For now, though, some photographic evidence of what I was up to on Friday.

Vog from Kilauea enveloped most of Hawaii on Friday, obscuring views of Oahu and Molokai on the morning flight to Lanai. The effect it had on the view of the manicured gardens at the Four Seasons Lodge at Koele when I checked in, however, was wonderfully dramatic.

A view of the island's only town, Lanai City, from a bluff above the Lodge at Koele. With just over 3,000 residents, a handful of businesses and comprised mainly of homes, it's not your classic definition of a "city." But you'll meet some of the friendliest people in Hawaii here.

I rented a Jeep 4x4  to explore the island's beaches for a future HAWAII Magazine feature. With only 30 miles of paved road on the island, Jeeps are pretty much the only rental available. Fortunately, they're the best way to see Lanai (other than on horseback, which I'm also doing a bit of this weekend for a HAWAII feature). This is a beach road on the island's north shore.

Polihua Beach, on Lanai's north side, is your reward after a lengthy and extremely bumpy drive down a single-lane Jeep trail. Stretching more than two miles, it's Lanai's longest white sand beach. It's also one of the island's most remote. On a typical late afternoon visit, you'll find about as many people exploring its breathtaking grandeur as you do in this photo.

My dinner after a long day of "work"—a meat lover's pizza at Pele's Other Garden in Lanai City. It's always a joy visiting owners Mark and Barbara Zigmond, and sampling their terrific homemade Italian entrees, pizzas, deli sandwiches and desserts. Great people. Must-have-food on Lanai. Check out Mark's must-read "My Corner of Paradise" feature in our Jan./Feb. 2008 issue.

 

Hawaii has lost not just a legendary entertainer, but a respected cultural figure. A well-known Hawaiian music family has lost its much-loved matriarch.

Winona Beamer passed away in her sleep this morning at her home on Maui, after a long illness. She was 84.

Her sons are musicians Keola and Kapono Beamer—as a duo, best known for their 1970s hit “Honolulu City Lights.”

Born Winona Kapuailohiamanonokalani Desha—but affectionately known to most simply as “Auntie Nona”—Beamer made countless lasting contributions to Hawaiian culture.

Born in Honolulu in 1923, Beamer began learning hula at age 3 from her Big Island grandmother. She would later become a respected kumu hula (hula teacher)—and a leader in restoring hula’s traditional cultural roots.

An educator for four decades at Kamehameha Schools, Beamer coined the term “Hawaiiana” in 1948 to define the Hawaiian culture courses she introduced into the school’s curriculum.

When school trustees threatened to curtail the curriculum in 1997, Beamer issued a protest letter to the state Supreme Court, condemning their actions and mismanagement. The letter sparked public debate over the actions of the powerful court-appointed trustees (who were also in charge of Kamehameha Schools’ lucrative land trust then known as Bishop Estate). The public uproar would end with the trustees’ removal and an era of monumental reform at the school.

Most folks, however, knew Auntie Nona best for her many contributions to culture and the arts.

Beamer was a composer of songs—most famously, “Pupu Hinuhinu” (Hawaiian meaning “shiny shells”), which is still sung by schoolchildren. She was also a storyteller and prolific author, with more than a dozen books, tapes and CDs to her credit.

Beamer was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1974, and presented with a lifetime achievement award by her peers at the 1992 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards—the Hawaiian music equivalent of the Grammys.

Our condolences go out to the Beamer ohana.

  

This is the Konan High School Brass Ensemble from Ashiya, Japan. 

It’s a rocking ensemble.  Check out this clip of the band playing today in Bishop Square, downtown Honolulu, outside the Hawaii Magazine offices. 

Honolulu has become a crossroads for East and West, so it’s no surprise that Konan High does a yearly band exchange with an O‘ahu school, Le Jardin.

On Monday, the Konan Brass played the Battleship Missouri Memorial.  In other words, they performed in the shadow of the USS Missouri.  And it was onboard the Missouri, on Sept. 2, 1945, that Japan surrendered, bringing World War II to a close. 

We like the symbolism—the Missouri Memorial is currently home to a “Parade of Bands.”  Continuing through June—and during a second season from Nov. 11 until Dec. 7—more than 2,000 students from more than 40 bands perform at the Memorial.

For more information about the Parade of Bands program, contact Bobi Baclaan, special events coordinator, at (808) 455-1600 ext. 247 or email bobib@ussmissouri.org.

 

The current eruption of Kilauea is bringing back old memories for me.

I grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa awoke in the early morning hours 24 years ago this week, March 25, 1984.

The 1984 eruption on the 13,680-foot volcano’s southeast flank produced a river of lava that came within four miles of the upper slopes of Hilo before stopping.

I lived in Hilo at the time.

My friends and I joined other residents on Hilo’s bayfront or near the airport runway after dark, studying the suddenly strange-looking mountain looming over the city. The familiar placid evening silhouette was gone. Mauna Loa now had a glowing amber hot spot and a thin finger of orange lava moving downslope through its thick forests.

Twenty-four years ago we had a rare opportunity that even the current eruption does not afford: Two Hawaii volcanoes erupting simultaneously. Turn southeast at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and you’d see clouds lit up by the Kilauea eruption downslope. Turn west, and you could make out the curtain of 160-foot lava fountains upslope on Mauna Loa.

We were regulars at both locations over the three weeks that followed. Meanwhile, the intensely glowing orange finger of lava drew closer to the lights of Hilo each night. Fascination turned to fear. The town buzzed with talk of evacuation.

A friend’s house in upper Hilo was at least a dozen miles away from where the tip of the flow was mowing down vegetation. But sitting in his backyard gazing at the intense orange glow streaming through the forest beyond after dusk, you’d think it was just over the treeline, possibly arriving before morning.


Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s most recent Mauna Loa report on March 15 showed no seismic activity or ground swelling—which means no lava is collecting in the mountain’s sizable below-surface reservoir.

One has to wonder, though, how long Mauna Loa will continue to let its younger sibling Kilauea continue to steal all the attention.

 

Today, we’re celebrating Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Piikoi’s birthday in the Islands.

Much of the Hawaii the world sees today can be traced to the work of Prince Kuhio. His determination and passion for the Islands and its people led him into a life of public service. He served as Hawaii’s second congressional delegate from 1903 until his death in 1922.

There’s a more complete story on Prince Kuhio’s life and the impact he had on Hawaii in the March/April 2007 issue of HAWAII Magazine. 

Across the state, schools are closed, city transportation operates on a holiday schedule and many people have the day off today to honor Hawaii’s beloved prince. Services were held early this morning at Oahu’s Royal Mausoleum, the Prince’s final resting place.

If you’re on Oahu this weekend, activities include the annual Prince Kuhio parade on Saturday in Waikiki, which starts at 4 p.m., followed by a moonlight concert at 6 p.m.

If you’re on Kauai, there are many Prince Kuhio celebrations scheduled throughout the weekend.

Another reason to honor Prince Kuhio? Without him, we wouldn’t have King Kamehameha Day—the only other state holiday dedicated to Hawaii’s royalty.

 

The Na Pali Coast of Kauai is the focus of a photo essay and feature in the April issue of National Geographic.

The story, “Fortress Coast,” explores the history of the remote north shore of Kauai coastline, and human impact on its near-pristine valleys and beaches. Though largely inaccessible save for foot trails and ocean landings, the Na Pali coastline has in recent years proven catnip for visitors intrigued by its natural beauty and isolation.

The valleys of Na Pali were populated by Native Hawaiians continuously for six centuries through the early 1900s. In recent decades, however, it has lured another kind of population: the more than half-million visitors annually who hike its trails, camp overnight in its valleys, buzz over its 3,000 foot cliffs in helicopters and, sadly, at times prove poor stewards of Na Pali.

The feature is accompanied by stunning photos of Na Pali by National Geographic photographers Diane Cook and Len Jenshel.

You’ll find the story, photos and an interactive map of Na Pali at National Geographic’s Web site here.

 

Today’s the 49th anniversary of statehood for Hawaii.

On March 12, 1959, both houses of Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act. President Eisenhower signed it into law five days later.

Almost 95 percent of Hawaii residents voted to accept the statehood bill that June, and the Hawaiian archipelago became the 50th state two months later.

No big statehood events are planned here for today—most acknowledge Statehood Day as August 21, the day Hawaii officially became a state. These days, celebration of the latter is largely muted due to unhappiness from Native Hawaiian groups over the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

So don’t expect any big to-do when August 21 rolls around this year. But it would seem likely there will be some kind of large-scale celebrating for next year’s 50th anniversary of statehood.

March 12, 1959, marked the end of a 40-year-bid—first launched by Hawaii Congressional delegate and Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole in 1919—for the Islands to become a state. Five bills for statehood were introduced between 1919 and 1950. All of them were rejected until the 86th Congress made Hawaii the 50th state two months after Alaska became the 49th in January 1959.

Thousands of residents celebrated in the streets, car horns honked, bands played and paraded down Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, and ceremonies were held all over the new state. The Statehood Commission Office hung a sign outside its door with the handwritten note: Out of Business.