In Hawaii, Arbor Day falls on the first Friday in November. If you happen to be in the Islands this week, there are plenty of tree-planting opportunities and green celebrations. The Territory of Hawaii first observed the day in 1905 when Gov. George Robert Carter proclaimed Nov. 3 as Arbor Day and recommended that all […]
A soft breeze glides through louvered windows in the parlor of Queen Emma Summer Palace, nudging me toward a baby grand piano the Hawaii queen acquired while traveling through Europe in the mid-1800s. “You can play something, if you’d like,” says Della Kuaana, the museum’s docent coordinator, who is also my tour guide. A short
The Historic Hawaii Foundation is honoring the late Herb Kawainui Kane as its Kamaaina of the Year and last week unveiled the artist’s final painting, which is now on permanent display at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. Titled Kamehameha Landing, the image (pictured, right) depicts Kamehameha I and his warriors landing in Waikiki during
The latest episode of the Travel Channel’s Off Limits show, through which host Don Wildman explores “secret histories” tied to various travel destinations across the United States, focuses on Hawaii’s past. Among the difficult-to-access sites Wildman visits: Ford Island’s Adair Battery, which was used as a makeshift bunker during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl
Hawaiian Airlines is now offering an airfare sale on roundtrip travel during early 2012 — Jan. 5 through March 14 — between Hawaii and its 10 U.S. mainland cities. The sale’s fares, which start at $298 for roundtrip travel between Kahului, Maui and Oakland and San Jose, Calif. will be offered through Mon., Oct. 31.
Lance Armstrong will be among the off-road triathletes lining up at the 9 a.m. mass-start swim (pictured, right) for this Sunday’s 16th annual XTERRA World Championship, which will be held along Maui’s northwest shoreline. The sport of XTERRA — 1-mile rough-water swim, 18.3-mile mountain bike ride and 6.1 mile trail run — debuted on Maui
Sweden? C’mon, start strumming. Hawaii is tuning up for a try at topping the recent Guinness World Record set on Aug. 20, 2011 when exactly 1,547 ukulele players performed in unison in Helsingborg, Sweden. In the interest of Island pride, passion for music, a fundraising effort and, yes, just plain fun, ukulele players from Hawaii
On Maui this week? If so, you can catch a glimpse of West Maui’s sugar plantation past at the third annual Lahaina Plantation Days. The stars of this year’s event will be two original steam locomotives — No. 7 (pictured, right) and No. 97 — used by Pioneer Mill Company, West Maui’s last sugar plantation.
A new shuttle service is now offering Honolulu International Airport travelers door-to-door rides to Waikiki, Kahala (near Diamond Head) Downtown Honolulu, Ko Olina on Oahu’s Leeward side, and other bustling areas. Selected by Hawaii’s State Department of Transportation for a five-year contract to operate as the sole official airport shuttle for on-demand service, SpeediShuttle began
During daylight hours at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu, there are family canoe races and tours, during which friendly guides talk about the six Pacific Cultures represented at the park (pictured, below). And every afternoon, a pageant on the park’s lagoon showcases dance and song of Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, Aotearoa, Tahiti and Tonga. After
Now through mid-November, the Big Island’s top-notch Kau coffee — cultivated on small family farms on the southeast flanks of Mauna Loa — will be featured in the Starbucks Reserve lineup. It is reportedly being served at select Starbucks coffeehouses in the U.S. mainland (not in Hawaii), Canada and Japan. The Big Island’s more established
The 31st annual Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), which features a lineup of 212 films from 43 countries, gets under way tomorrow in Honolulu. In a news release, the nonprofit’s executive director, Chuck Boller, said: “People always ask me which films they should see at HIFF.” He continued, “I always tell them to not miss the opening,
