Even if you’ve never been to Hawaii, chances are you’ve caught wind of the name Pele, the legendary Hawaiian goddess who makes her home in Kilauea’s Halemaumau Crater.Photo: Wikipedia CommonsLook at all that steam. Someone must be home …There are many moolelo (legends) surrounding the deity to Kilauea and multiple portraits of her at the Jaggar Museum at Hawaii Volcanoes…
DCIM101MEDIADJI_0003.JPGOff a picturesque beach in Kahala on Oahu, a young Polynesian voyager has carved out a niche for himself as a resident educator, tour guide and waterman at the Kahala Resort. Austin Kino, a 27-year-old junior navigator, has a seafarer’s eyes—blue, piercing, quick to read the subtle movements of wind, waves and wildlife. From years of instruction by famous Polynesian…
On March 23, 1950, a Hawaiian icon was born. The small town of Kalamaula, on the island of Molokai, welcomed George Jarrett Helm, Jr., and, unbeknownst to Hawaii’s political and cultural sphere then, he would become a man who would shape the contemporary consciousness of Hawaiian identity and values for generations.Aloha aina.Literally meaning “love of the land,” it holds many…
Find your pitch, people. The Kamehameha Schools Song Contest is fast approaching and you can watch it live on TV or streaming online. This Friday, March 17, the annual music contest gathers the Kamehameha Schools Kapalama Campus high school student body (grades 9 through 12) to perform Hawaiian mele (songs) in boys, girls and co-ed groups. First, let’s talk about the contest… The inaugural…
Hawaii ukulele virtuosa Taimane Gardner is a music prodigy who began playing at the age of 5, was discovered as a teenager by music legend Don Ho and has studied with modern ukulele superstar and island boy Jake Shimabukuro. She entrances audiences the world over with her fiercely passionate playing style and impressive mastery of the ukulele, whether she’s delicately picking her way…
Believe it—it’s possible to do the entire island of Oahu in a morning. (That’s if the thought of heights doesn’t make you skittish.) Tour operator Paradise Helicopters launched a new helicopter tour, Oahu Circle Island Experience, and its self-explanatory title carries a notable esteem: It’s the only full circle tour of Oahu by helicopter.All of Oahu’s most famous landmarks are…
People really need to cool it with getting so dangerously close to the ocean entry of the Kilauea lava flow.This week, a powerful open lava stream, like most have never seen before, began pouring out of a lava tube high atop a Hawaii Island sea cliff.Videos from and images using a high-magnification lens from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano…
For many years, the Hawaii music industry and local radio stations have highlighted three familiar genres of music: Hawaiian, reggae and the catchy Island-blend known as Jawaiian. But, thanks to rising stars Izik Moreno, DeAndre Brackensick, Lina Robins-Tamure and Keilana Mokulehua, the musical landscape has a new sound to celebrate.Though each is an artist in their own right, they collectively…
A large section of the 26-acre lava delta created at the Kamokuna ocean entry from the 61g lava flow has collapsed into the ocean. It occurred on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2016 at 2:45 p.m.The intense spectacle, located within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, propelled rain showers of volcanic rock debris into the air and a series of large waves…
1. The Hawaii Island lava flow that sparked everyone’s interest in Kilauea.Photo courtesy: Lava Ocean ToursThe Hilo side of Hawaii Island was on everyone’s radar this year when a lava flow, dubbed 61g, reached the waters off Kamokuna. In a phenomenal display of nature, visitors and residents alike flocked to the area by land, air and sea to get a…
“Mele Kalikimaka” is the rebel of popular Christmas tunes.Written by Hawaii composer Robert Alexander Anderson in 1949, its lyrics croon of a bright green winter land where palm trees sway under shining sun and stars. It mentions snow exactly zero times.For many, the song is associated with Bing Crosby. It’s the jaunty, steel-guitared counterpart to the melancholic, orchestrated “White Christmas,”…
There’s nothing like pulling up a seat to these premier tables set up across the Hawaiian Islands.1. A private chef … and helicopter ride to HanaYou’ll work up an appetite on this tour with Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea—part of its Unforgettable Experiences, A Taste of Island Life portfolio of exclusive, custom excursions.First you’ll take a helicopter ride to Hana—including aerial…
This absolutely feels like you’re watching an episode of “Mad Men.” Or, rather, those “Mad Men” episodes where Don Draper and Sterling Cooper holoholo on over to Hawaii feel exactly like this travelogue. In one of the most stylized travelogues you’ll ever see, highlights include an appearance by Don Ho, a bike ride through pineapple fields, outrigger canoe surfing (check…
The social media craze dubbed the Mannequin Challenge has been sweeping the net, finding its way into recent Thanksgiving dinners to the halls of the White House.Just when you think you’ve seen them all, or have become totally unfazed by it, here is possibly the greatest rendition yet—and by the Greatest Generation, no less.While in Hawaii for the week-long, Pearl…
Perennial aloha shirt favorite Reyn Spooner has been in the fashion game for a while. A long while, actually; six decades to be exact.This year marks its 60th anniversary and to commemorate its endurance in the ever-changing fashion scene the label put on a runway show at Honolulu Fashion Week highlighting pivotal points in its design evolution (no, there weren’t capes). The design…
Chatting with Aulii Cravalho, one thing rings clear: She was born to voice a Disney character.Like the ocean itself, which is what “moana” means in Hawaiian, the emotive range of her voice is deep and wide, coming at you in steady, confident waves and with an ability to flow from bubbly to serious to contemplative to hopeful, sometimes within the breath of a single answer. After a worldwide…
Yesterday, Hawaiian Airlines unveiled new uniforms for its employees.Photo courtesy: Hawaiian Airlines They were designed by Hilo, Hawaii Island favorite Sig Zane for the airlines’ 5,000+ employees and the outfits are a fashion-forward affair. Photo courtesy: Hawaiian AirlinesBet your check-in Louis Vuitton luggage gonna be ~ j e a l o u s ~ of its cargo employees’ new threads. But, what people can’t stop…
From surf contests to artisan craft fairs, these exciting happenings are worth planning trips to the Islands around. Here’s what’s going on this month.2016 Made in Maui County FestivalNovember 4 & 5, 2016Kahului, Maui • The largest product show in the entire state gathers at this festival featuring Hawaii-inspired products. Browse everything from jewelry and fashion to produce and food all in…
The Peahi Challenge got the green light earlier this week and is scheduled to run on Friday, Oct. 27 and/or Saturday, Oct. 28. Watch it live via the World Surf League live stream.Peahi, also known as Jaws, is a surf break off the northern coast of Maui that is expected to deliver 40–50-foot waves this weekend, attracting the biggest-wave surfers…
Queen Liliʻuokalani was the last ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, remembered for her intellect, elegance and diligence towards Hawaiʻi’s citizens even in the face of the injustice she endured in the overthrow of her governance. Her nobility is readily apparent in her writings—famously, the historical memoir “Hawaiʻi’s Story by Hawaiʻi’s Queen”—but her storytelling prowess and legacy also lives…
You’ve seen big-wave surfers collectively charge Waimea. You’ve seen impressive, mind-boggling lines carved out on Peahi. But this weekend in Waikiki, you’ll see an entirely different display on a wave where craftsmanship, costumes and childlike imagination take center stage.Granted it’s a far gentler wave than its north shore counterparts, it still packs a punch where creativity is concerned.Hilarity is guaranteed…
Halona Cove Beach on Oahu. Photo: Cynthia Kanouse/FlickrThink of some of the best romantic dramas and comedies and likely its setting is a character in and of itself. “Roman Holiday” and the streets of Rome, “Love Actually” and the city web that’s London, England, and we just can’t imagine “When Harry Met Sally” taking place anywhere but New York City. Hawaii’s beaches regularly…
If you’re heading to Mauna Kea for some star gazing and have a few hours to kill before sunset, head to Hawaii Island’s newest public trail amid the mountain’s dry forest. There, at 7,000 feet and within dwindling strands of native mamane forest, is your only chance to spot the critically endangered palila, a chubby yellow bird that is the last living example of…
Indie Honolulu record label Aloha Got Soul’s founder Roger Bong has been dropping the needle on rare and out-of-print local music for over six years now, unearthing sounds from Hawaii’s grooviest era: the 1970s and ’80s.Since documenting, digitizing and dispersing relatively unknown made-in-Hawaii recordings on his blog, it’s blossomed into a definitive contemporary guide to music from the times, along with some…
