Raiatea and Keola Beamer in Concert on Saturday, May 22, in Lahaina

Keola Beamer -- famed slack key guitarist, composer, and all-around Hawaiian musical treasure -- has teamed up with Raiatea Helm to create a new album, Keola Beamer & Raiatea for Mountain Apple. Released at the beginning of the month, the album features everything from traditional Hawaiian songs to their cover of John Lennon "Imagine" (reworked in Hawaiian as "Ina-".)

On Saturday night, they will be performing at the Maui Theatre in Lahaina (home of 'Ulalena) on Saturday at 7:30PM. This will be a great opportunity to see two of the stars of the Hawaiian music scene in an intimate setting -- there really isn't a bad seat in the house.

Call 877-688-4800 for tickets. For more information on the album -- including a preview of the songs -- visit http://www.mountainapplecompany.com/keola/raiatea/.

Don't Miss the 18th Annual East Maui Taro Festival

This coming weekend, April 24 and 25, the town of Hana will once again play host to the annual East Maui Taro Festival, a celebration of kalo (as taro is known in Hawaiian) and local culture.

On Saturday, April 24, the festivities will take place at the Hana Ball Park. There will be food, educational booths about taro, demonstrations on how to pound poi and carve the stone poi pounder and poi board, and lots of entertainment. My halau, Halau Maui Nui a Kama -- under the direction of Na Kumu Keli'i Tau'a and Kapono Kamaunu -- will be performing in the morning, so be certain you are there early! (Unfortunately, I will not be performing with them as work takes me to the mainland. Oh well -- next time.)

On Sunday, April 25, there will be a taro pancake breakfast and tours of Kahanu Garden and Kahanu Living Farm.

All the details can be found at http://www.tarofestival.org/ and there was also an excellent article about the festival -- and about taro cultivation in general -- in the Maui News: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/530612.html.

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Father Damien

In the midst of tax day yesterday, we neglected to post that it was also the anniversary of the death of Saint Damien of Molokai (more commonly known as Father Damien).

Born Jozef ("Jef") De Veuster in Belgium in 1840, Damien moved to Hawaii in 1864. He was ordained to the priesthood later that year at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu. In 1865, the Kingdom of Hawaii set up the colony at Kalaupapa for people suffering from Hansen's Disease (then known as leprosy) and Father Damient moved to Molokai in 1873. He died of the disease on April 15, 1889.

Last year, Damien was sainted by Pope Benedict XVI and his feast day was declared as May 10th. At the beginning of this month, Hawaii's governor, Linda Lingle, signed into law a designation that May 10 will also be a holiday in Hawaii to be known as "Saint Damien Day." Stay tuned -- if there are any Saint Damien activities planned on Maui, we'll be sure to post them here.

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A Day of Culture and Art at UH Maui College

This Sunday, April 11, from 10:00AM to 5:00PM, join in a celebration of Maui's rich and diverse heritage at Maui College (formerly MCC) in Kahului. Entertainment will range from MAPA to Hawaii Ballroom Dancers to Frank DeLima and there will be craft and food booths. (We are especially looking forward to dishes presented by International House of Taro.)

Admission is free and you can find out a complete schedule of everything happening at http://aecg.org/2010/cultureandart.htm.

A hui hou!

Happy Birthday Ka'ahumanu and Kauikeaouli

As noted last week, today is birthday of Queen Ka'ahumanu, who was born in Hana in 1768. But today is also the day that Kauikeaouli -- better known by his royal title, Kamehameha III -- celebrated his official birthday. Kauikeaouli was born in August 1813 (though some think it was in June or July) but adopted March 17th as his official birthday because of his admiration for St. Patrick. (Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's day, too!)

On a completely different note, today is also another significant anniversary -- one year ago today the ill-fated Superferry stopped service between Maui and O'ahu. Will ferry service make a comeback? A bill was passed last month to explore the options of linking the major islands by boat. We shall see....

Celebrate Queen Ka'ahumanu's Birthday

This weekend the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului is celebrating the birth of one of Hawaii's most revered queens -- and their namesake -- Ka'ahumanu. The queen was born on March 17, 1768, in Hana, Maui. Through her mother's lineage she was descended from the great chiefs of Maui, including Kekaulike, and on her father's side she was related (distantly) to Kamehameha I, to whom she was betrothed in 1781. She went on to be the king's favorite wife and, after Kamehameha's death, to be co-regent of the Kingdom of Hawaii with both Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III.

On Friday (March 12), opening ceremonies will be led at the mall by the 'Ahahui Ka'ahumanu Society beginning at 6:00 p.m. On Saturday (March 13) there will be musical entertainment in the queen's honor:

• 11:00am: Hulu Lindsey
• 12:00pm Derick Sebastian and Joshua Kahula
• 1:00pm George Kahumoku
• 2:00pm Jason Sedang and the men and women of Kealaokala, .

  The events are sponsored by radio station, KPOA.

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Ko'olau: A True Story of Kaua'i at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center

There are still tickets available for this Sunday's 5:00PM performance at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Ko'olau: A True Story of Kaua'i. This looks like it is going to be a fantastic show, a blending of Hawaiian history, puppetry, video projection, live music, and vivid storytelling.

The work is the brainchild of Hawaiian-born (and now New York-based) director Tom Lee; it tells the true story of Kaluaiko'olau, a native Hawaiian paniolo with Hansen's Disease, who resisted forced exile to Kalaupapa in the 1890s, hiding with his family in Kaua'i's Ko 'olau Valley.  Its text is taken from Francis Frazier's powerful, poetic translation from the original words of Pi'ilani, the wife of Kaluaiko'olau.

The New York Times called the show "beautifully conceived and performed. Tom Lee's production...not only reveals its lyrical beauty, but through its rich combination of music, film, and puppet animation, brings out the sadness and strength at its core."


Tickets are still available at MACC box office or on their website at https://www.mauiarts.org/tickets/. PLEASE NOTE: The show is general admission and is in the Castle Theater, so you may want to show up early to get good seats.

For more photos from the show, visit Tom Lee's website at http://www.tomleeprojects.com/gallery2/v/Koolau/.

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