Peʻahi, the world-famous big wave break on Maui’s north shore, is not for the faint of heart. In the winter months, Peʻahi’s waves can measure anywhere between 40 to 60 feet. For a big wave contest to occur, they must reach a minimum of 35 to 45 feet and yesterday surely exceeded that.Also known as Jaws, Peʻahi is the name…
Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, the opening rounds of the Vans World Cup of Surfing kicked off at Sunset Beach. This is the second gem of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, the most-coveted surf contest series in the world. There are two days left of competition for the World Cup and with a giant northwest swell forecast to hit…
These three parties on Black Friday will make you thankful you avoided the malls.Fitted | Scott from FITTED on Vimeo. FittedKa Po Nui Hoolako (The great night that supplies)The annual Black Friday event in Fitted’s parking lot started because kids were lining up for the drop of new collections, and it has grown in size and scope over the last decade.There…
Following Friday’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris, France, a hula halau (dance troupe) based in the “City of Light” united over the weekend to share the aloha spirit and wishes of healing to the victims and its citizens.On Sunday, Halau Hula O Manoa attended their already scheduled, routine lei-making class, but it took on a new feeling and sense of…
The first gem of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, the Hawaiian Pro, will start when a northwest swell brings contestable conditions to the surf break, Haleiwa.Although this contest’s 12-day holding period started on Nov. 12 the waves on the North Shore of Oahu have been too small to run the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) event. The…
With 181 films being screened over the course of 10 days it’s almost impossible to watch all of the movies at the 2015 Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) in Honolulu.So we looked for all of the films that was made in Hawaii or had a Hawaiian connection so you can have your #myhiffmoment. You can purchase tickets on the HIFF…
Hawaii is wading in an early humpback whale season and, yes, we’re quite excited about this. However, there are other species of these marine mammals breaching the surface to wave aloha.In the past two months, we’ve also witnessed pods of other magnificent mammals. About six weeks ago, a tour company owned by wildlife biologists happened upon a rare sight off…
The final piece of the 3,000-ton steel structure that makes up the new International Market Place was lifted into place on Monday, October 26, 2015, in a ceremony celebrating the milestone. The piece was a 21,000-pound fire tower that will one day light up the storefront with its 13 gas lanterns, and serve as a “beacon that attracts visitors and…
Hawaii’s beaches can be great places to swim and surf, but it’s important to realize that the ocean isn’t always the calm and placid scenes depicted on postcards. The reality is the ocean is completely unpredictable, something anyone who’s grown up around the water their entire lives, even the strongest of swimmers, would agree with …Which is what makes this…
The Rough Riders, comprised of legendary Hawaiian singer/songwriters Henry Kapono, John Cruz and Brother Noland, are concluding their “We Ride” tour at the iconic Hawaii Theatre on Oahu this Friday. The trio has decades of recording and performing experience, spanning musical genres of Jawaiian (Jamaican-Hawaiian), folk, slack-key, rock ‘n’ roll and jazz, while entertaining multiple generations with a huge catalog of classics. All…
Discovery Channel’s latest show about Hawaii, “Pacific Warriors,” premieres on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (10 p.m. EST) starring Hawaii men and women who go out to sea alone to catch fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi mahi. Similar to Ernest Hemingway’s book The Old Man and the Sea, the “Pacific Warriors” voluntarily put themselves…
Once upon a time, Hawaii’s own ruled not just the world, but the entire dang universe. Pageant universe that is. Brook Mahealani Lee, born and raised in Central Oahu and a Kamehameha Schools graduate, is something of a trailblazer really. Not only did she win Miss Hawaii USA on her first try in 1997, she then quickly went on to…
As if Hawaii wasn’t relaxing enough, now you can soak in the soothing sounds of jazz all weekend next month.Turtle Bay will welcome the 2nd Annual Oahu Jazz & Blues Festival from November 19–22. Award-winning local and national artists alike will gather on the north shore for four exciting days and nights of nonstop live jazz.Last year was a sold…
Walt Disney Animation Studios announced this morning that Hawaii’s Aulii Cravalho will be the voice of Moana, the lead character of the latest animated feature scheduled to hit theaters in Nov. 23, 2016. The 14-year-old, Native Hawaiian from Mililani, Oahu is a newcomer to Hollywood, and will bring an air of authenticity to this Polynesian tale of voyaging.In the movie ‘Moana,’ Aulii’s character…
Though Hawaii’s beaches are cleaner than many, the state’s location in the middle of the Pacific can mean that tiny pieces of plastic—broken down from larger pieces by the sun and waves as they are carried by currents from Asia and the mainland U.S.—wash up on our beaches. “The Northeast trade winds blow the trash right up onto our coastlines,”…
Imagine this: It’s nighttime. A man dressed in a traditional Samoan lavalava skirt and grasses rapidly twirls a flaming, sharp-edged blade with focused skill and precision—his body is illuminated by its glow. He grabs another flaming knife and begins to twirl it while sending the first sailing five feet above his head. It peaks and heads back down towards his…
It’s incomprehensible now to imagine absolutely no one wanting to sign Kealii Reichel to a recording contract or put him in a studio. But, once upon an apparently unenlightened time in artist acquisition in the Hawaii music industry, that was the case.In 1993, armed with a cassette tape of songs he’d written and home-recorded, and hoping to record a proper album, Reichel—and his…
Mana is the life force energy of the Sun as well as the stars and is revered by the people of Hawaii and other cultures. Mana pervades the universe and is responsible for bringing order out of chaos. All activity in the universe is controlled by mana, the divine energy of the Creator.Today, the Life Force energy is made available…
There are so many things to see and do on Maui, but whale watching is perhaps one of the most incredible and enlightening. The Valley Isle is one of only a few places on Earth to host humpback whales in such large numbers and for such a lengthy duration (from December to April). Watching for spouts, breaching, arching, flapping and…
Loco Moco burgers aren’t on the menu at Hawaii McDonald’s locations (yet!), but over the next few weeks, you can order them at any full-service McDonald’s restaurant in Japan.The Hawaii-themed fare is part of the “World Mac Hawaii Campaign,” a marketing strategy born of a partnership between Hawaii Tourism Japan and McDonald’s Japan, Ltd.Packaging bearing the company’s iconic golden arches…
In January 1960, a seam of lava opened up behind the small agricultural town of Kapoho on Hawaii Island. Over the course of nearly two months, the small town watched, waited and tried to control the molten rock. Unfortunately, all but a small handful of the town’s homes and buildings were slowly overtaken, and only a dark puddle of rock remains…
Bizarre Foods’ Andrew Zimmern is back in Hawaii in search of the best, boldest, and most bizarre foods on the Islands. Airing on Monday (July 8), 6 p.m. Hawaii time/9 p.m. on the Mainland, an episode titled Undiscovered Hawaii will take a look at Hawaiian cuisine, cooking methods and ingredients that will leave some viewers unsure whether to salivate or…
Staffers at DFS Hawaii set a new world record last week with a heavily caffeinated creation: a portrait of Elvis Presley consisting of 5,642 cups of coffee in 10 different shades. The portrait (16 feet wide, 25 feet long) was crafted at DFS Galleria Waikiki on Friday afternoon to celebrate the store’s upcoming Art of Hawaiian Coffee event, which gets…
If you’re in the Waikiki area this Sunday (July 22), expect to see many passersby toting ukuleles. If you enjoy upbeat ukulele music (… and who doesn’t?), follow the musical crowd to Kapiolani Park Bandstand. The 42nd annual Ukulele Festival Hawaii will be under way from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.The festival’s stage performance lineup includes two dozen musical acts,…
