Shows &events
Iolani Luahine Hula Festival today, Saturday
The 15th annual Iolani Luahine Hula Festival starts today and continues through Saturday at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay. The festival was established in 2003 with to perpetuate the hula, and it also serves as a way to honor the memory of Iolani Luahine and her contributions to the preservation of hula and Hawaiian culture.
The two-day festival features hula presentations and workshops starting at 9:30 a.m. each day. Matt Sproat, David Kamakahi and Nathan Grace will perform this evening at 7 p.m.; tickets are $10 in advance; $15 at the door. On Saturday, the festival will offer Hawaiian arts and crafts by local artisans from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Info: www.iolaniluahinefestival.org.
‘Finding Dory’ to be screened
Queens’ MarketPlace will host its monthly Movies Under the Stars on Saturday with a showing of “Finding Dory.”
Attendees should bring a beach chair or blanket for the free outdoor movie that gets underway at dusk, about 6:10 p.m., at the Coronation Pavilion.
In this PG Disney film, Dory, the friendly but forgetful blue tang fish, begins a search for her long-lost parents, and everyone learns a few things about the real meaning of family along the way.
Info: www.queensmarketplace.net.
Vegas Night benefits Kona Aerials Gymnastics Team
Kona Aerials Gymnastics Team will hold a Vegas Night on Saturday at Hale Halawai in Kailua-Kona.
Play blackjack, Texas hold ‘em, craps, roulette and Wheel of Fortune for fun during the 6 to 11 p.m. event. Food, soft drinks, beer and wine will be available for purchase.
The “adults only” event supports nonprofit Kona Aerials Gymnastics Booster Club’s athletes travel to Oahu and the Mainland.
Tickets are by donation; $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets are available at Kona Coffee &Tea on Palani Road or by emailing vegasnighttickets@yahoo.com or calling 854-4890.
Info: vegasnighttickets@yahoo.com, 854-4890
Wiliwili Festival this Saturday
The Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative will host the sixth annual Wiliwili Festival on Saturday in Waikoloa Village.
The free festival, which celebrates the area’s native lowland dryforest and the wiliwili trees of Waikoloa, runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Waikoloa Stables. Planned during the event are educational workshops, tours, vendors, native plant sales, prizes, keiki activities, a silent auction, music, food and more.
The festival follows the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative’s pop-up art gallery and sale in Waikoloa Village. The work of six artists that regularly feature Native Hawaiian species in their creations will be highlighted during the event, which runs 5 to 7:30 p.m. this evening, also at Waikoloa Stables. All art sales benefit the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative and its forest restoration and community programs.
Tickets are $30, which includes pupus, beer and wine, and live music by slack key guitarist John Keawe. University of Hawaii Professor of Geography Jonathan Price is the guest speaker.
Info: www.waikoloadryforest.org/wiliwili-festival.
SKEA holds annual membership day, gallery show
The Society for Kona’s Education and Art will hold its annual membership day and gallery show, presented by the South Kona Artists Cooperative, from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The free event will feature live performances by Ke’ei Mauka Boys and Mahina’s Hula Halau with music by Aloha Moon, as well as an art exhibit by the cooperative, which is also known as SOKO, a silent auction, beverages and snacks and a presentation about SKEA. A kanikapila jam session will be held around 4:30 p.m.; all are welcome.
Info: 328-9392, www.skea.org.
Library hosts Ohrlando’s Chamber Ensemble
Ohrlando’s Chamber Ensemble featuring Roland Maurer and Ursula Hesse offers a New Year’s Concert on Tuesday at the Kailua-Kona Public Library.
The two Swiss musicians will offer a special colorful Bouquet of salon musique, waltzes, polkas, dances and more. Sponsored by Friends of the Libraries, Kona, this program is free to the public.
Info: 327-4327.
Ohrlando’s Chamber Ensemble slates 3 February concerts
Shortly before a trip to Europe, Ohrlando’s Chamber Ensemble offers a trio of concerts for lovers of exquisite baroque and classic chamber music. Garrett Webb will enrich the group with his recorders.
Garrett joined the ensemble featuring Roland “Orhlando” Maurer on oboe and bassoon and Ursula Hesse on harpsichod in several previous concerts.
The program includes a trio of sonatas by Johann Joachim Quantz, Johann Christoph Pepusch, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier and a sinfonia-suite by Johann Joseph Fux. Garrett will perform a recorder sonata by Georg Friedrich Handel and Ursula Hesse introduces the harpsichord with some short solo pieces.
Shows are slated 5 p.m. on Feb. 3 at Queen Emma Community Center in Kealakekua; 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 4 at Kona Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity; and 4 p.m. on Feb. 5 at a private residence in Kona (for reservations and directions, email roland.maurer@gmx.ch or call 315-7666).
Admission to all concerts is free, however, a $15 donation is suggested for the Feb. 3 and 4 performance. A $20 donation is suggested for the Feb. 5 show.
The Makaha Sons performs 2 shows Feb. 10
Umeke’s Fish Market and Grill in partnership with the Perpetuate Foundation present a pair of Valentine’s Day Concerts featuring The Makaha Sons on Feb. 10 at Umeke’s Fish Market and Grill in Kailua-Kona.
One of Hawaii’s premiere Hawaiian musical groups, The Makaha Sons’ first show is at 7 p.m. followed by a second show starting at 9 p.m. Seating for the first show is at 6 p.m. and at 8:30 p.m. for the second show.
General admission tickets are $40 and reserved seating is $50, if purchased in advance. At the door, prices increase by $10.
The Perpetuate Foundation is a nonprofit organization that strives “to be a light perpetuating culture, diversity, community development, commerce and health consciousness. Its purpose is to raise funds and be a catalyst to various organizations, promote cultural awareness and preservation, provide education on sustainability, grant scholarships for higher education and be an overall good steward of the community.
Info/tickets: 990-0474.
Announcements
APAC casts ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’
Miguel Montez has been cast as Jesus and Winton Nicholson as Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the next production of the Aloha Performing Arts Company.
Montez was seen as Emile deBecque in last season’s “South Pacific,” and Nicholson appeared as Juan Peron in “Evita” in 2015.
“Jesus Christ Superstar,” by the legendary team of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, exploded onto the scene in 1970 as a concept album, debuted on Broadway the following year, and has been revived worldwide countless times since. The musical dramatizes the last week in the life of Jesus Christ. APAC last produced the show in 1994.
The current production runs Feb. 10 through March 12 at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu, with Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Tickets range from $10 to $27 and may be purchased online at www.alohatheatre.com, by phone from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and at the box office beginning one hour before curtain time.
Other principal performers are: Tiffany Kutsunai as Mary Magdalene; Peter Anderegg as Pilate; Peter Schonberg as Caiaphas; Don Chinery as Annas; Pete Hoffman as the High Priest; Brett McCardle as King Herod; Topher Mann as the apostle Peter, and Miles Lugo as the apostle Simon Zealotes.
The other apostles are portrayed by Kent Kane, Bob Williams, Yasir Bey, Julia Compton, Kathryn Mayer, Kathryn St. Martin, Brandon Braam, Victor Lugo, and Megan Hodge. In addition, a core group including Chamika Fujioka, Zara Nicholson, Bill Cottle, Daniel Moretz, Kira Kane, Piper Pearson, David Kerchman, Bobbie Lloyd-Anderson, Dave Anderson, Levi Suydam, and Jesse Franklin will play various roles including soldiers, lepers, vendors, customers, reporters, followers, and tormentors.
Jerry Tracy is serving as director, with Joel Gimpel as music director, Marinella Savarese as vocal director, Ellen Farnsworth as choreographer, Judy Tringali, costume designer, Gerald Lucena specialty scene painter, and Daniel Moretz as dance captain and stunt coordinator. Assistant directors are Tiffany Kutsunai, Sarah Crawford, Nora Beck Judd, and Wendy Buzby. Kutsunai is also designing the lighting.
Producers are Jan Rae and Peter Schonberg, Terry Ann Fujioka is stage manager, Toni Reynolds is prop manager, Kaitlin Moore is hair and makeup designer, Cameron Bailey is house manager, Kerry Matsumoto and Sharyn Toyama are box office managers, Jeff and Linda Rowand are sound designers and operators, and Nicole Gour and Justyn Toyama are lighting operators.
Info: 322-9924.