Montessori school hosts open houses
Hawaii Montessori School will hold open houses for families of current and prospective students between the ages of 15 months and 6 years.
A Kona open house is scheduled from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at 74-978 Manawalea St. A Waimea event will be held Thursday at 64-1058 Mamalahoa Hwy. Visitors will have an opportunity to visit classrooms, learn about the school and its programs, including financial aid opportunities, and meet faculty members and administration.
For more information, contact Angeline Geldhof, executive director, at 329-0700 in Kona and at 885-7683 in Waimea or email angeline@hawaiimontessori.org. To learn more about Hawaii Montessori Schools’ programs, visit hawaiimontessori.org.
Letter carriers plan food drive
Saturday marks the 22nd annual National Association of Letter Carriers’ Food Drive. The largest single-day food drive of its kind, the “Stamp Out Hunger” drive is a nationwide, coordinated effort bringing in more than 1.2 billion pounds of food since its inception. Last year, more than 74.4 million pounds of food was collected in the nation, with 35,000 pounds collected in Hawaii County alone.
The NALC will deliver blue bags to households. Community members fill the blue bags with nonperishable food and letter carriers will pick them up and deliver them to The Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s Food Bank.
This year, The Food Basket is asking for prepared meals, rice and canned fruits and vegetables as high-demand items. Dented, rusty, or bloated cans or other packaging may be indicators of spoilage, and should not be included in a donation.
For more information, visit nalc.org/commun/foodrive or foodbaskethi.org.
Ka‘u Coffee Festival offers events, education
Leaders of the specialty coffee industry are traveling to the state’s largest agricultural district in May to taste and see all the effort that goes into award-winning Ka‘u coffee.
They include a leading voice for seed-to-cup sustainability, Mark Inman of California, and Blake Hanacek of Canada, a proponent of sustainable rural development and agribusiness management. The men headline the Ka‘u Coffee Festival’s annual reverse trade mission.
The reverse trade mission is part of the sixth Ka‘u Coffee Festival Saturday and Sunday at the Pahala Community Center. The coffee experts learn first-hand about Ka‘u coffee during Saturday festival activities, including guided tastings, farm tours and the opportunity to talk story with growers at their booths during the daylong hoolauea. On Sunday, the men give guest lectures to area coffee farmers at the annual Ka‘u Coffee College.
In addition, Robert Curtiss, acting plant pest control manager with the Division of Plant Industry at the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, will give a presentation Sunday at the Ka‘u Coffee College. Serving as the entomologist for West Hawaii, Curtiss has experience working with insect taxonomy, semiochemicals and insect biological control.
All coffee-industry related activities at the Ka‘u Coffee Festival are open to the public; some require a fee. The festival began Friday and runs through Sunday at a variety of locations. Details on all activities can be found at kaucoffeefest.com.
Charity walk slated Saturday
The 36th annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk sponsored by the Hawaii Lodging &Tourism Association is scheduled for Saturday at the Mauna Lani Resort. Registration begins at 5:45 a.m. Runners start off at 6:45 a.m. and walkers at 7 a.m. for the 3.5 mile course.
Proceeds benefit hundreds of local charities, with the monies raised staying on the island. Last year, more than 14,000 walkers statewide raised a record-breaking $1.67 million.
For more information and walker applications, visit charitywalkhawaii.org.