Shows &events
Celebrate Asian Fest at Queens’ MarketPlace
Queens’ MarketPlace hosts its annual Asian Fest celebration on Friday in Waikoloa Beach Resort.
Welcome the Year of the Dog during the 5-7 p.m. festivities featuring vibrant lion dancers and driving rhythms of drums from around the world. And, make sure you have your lycee (red envelope) ready with “lettuce” to feed the Lion and ensure good health and fortune in 2018. The event showcases the cultures of China, Okinawa, the Philippines and Japan.
Free food sampling begins at 5:3o p.m. (while supplies last). Culinary creations will be provided by A-Bay’s Island Grill, Bistro at The Cinemas, Charley’s Thai Cuisine, Ippy’s Hawaiian BBQ, Island Gourmet Markets, Mai Grille, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Roy’s Waikoloa Bar and Grill, Sansei Seafood, Steak and Sushi Bar, Sushi Shiono, Tropics Ale House, Waikoloa Beach Marriot and more.
Performances begin at 5:15 p.m. with Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko (Okinawan-style percussion and dance group) followed by Koto Music by Koto (Japanese stringed instrument by Darrin Miyashiro) at 5:45 p.m. and a meet and greet with Team Majestic Chinese Lions at 6 p.m. At 6:45 p.m., the Visayan Club featuring Filipino dancers takes the stage followed by the traditional lion dance at 7:15 p.m. The lion dance will commence at Island Gourmet Markets.
Info: Visit www.queensmarketplace.net or 886-8822.
Kahilu Theatre presents Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Cuarteto Latinoamericano, one of the world’s most renowned classical music ensembles, performs Friday evening at Kahilu Theatre in Waimea.
Founded in Mexico in 1982, the Cuarteto has toured extensively throughout Europe, North and South America, Israel, China, Japan and New Zealand. The members include violist Javier Montiel and the three Bitrán brothers, violinists Saul and Aron and cellist Alvaro.
Winners of the 2012 and 2016 Latin Grammys for Best Classical Recordings, they have been recognized with the Mexican Music Critics Association Award and have received the Chamber Music America/ASCAP’s “Most Adventurous Programming” Award three separate times. The Cuarteto is acclaimed for having a discography of more than 70 recordings, including most of the Latin American repertoire for string quartet.
Under the auspices of the Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles of Venezuela, the Cuarteto Latinoamericano has created and heads the Latin American Academy for String Quartets in Caracas, a training ground for five select young string quartets from the Sistema. The musicians visit the academy four times annually. The Cuarteto was quartet-in-residence at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh from 1987 to 2008.
Tickets are $68/$48/$25 and can be purchased online at www.kahilutheatre.org, by calling 885-6868, or in person at the Kahilu Theatre box office.
Info: Visit www.kahilutheatre.org.
Chorus presents ‘The Storm is Passing Over’
The Kona Choral Society presnts a community concernt celebrating African-American History Month at 7 p.m. Friday at Mokuaikaua Church.
“The Storm is Passing Over” will feature African-American gospels and spirituals performed by the Kona Choral Society, led by Artistic Director Susan McCreary Duprey with Accompanist Gloria Juan.
The concert is free, however, calabash donations will be acceptedMokuaikaua Church is located at 75-5713 Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona.
Info: Contact Susan Leonard at konachoralsociety@gmail.com.
Comedian Jamie Lissow plans trio of shows
The Aloha Comedy Club presents Jamie Lissow for a trio of Big Island shows.
The first show is 8 p.m. Friday at Honokaa People’s Theatre, followed by a second show at 8 p.m. at My Bar in Kailua-Kona and a third show at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Hawaiian Shores Community Center in Pahoa.
Lissow, writer and star of Netflix’s The Real Rob, has been featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show, NBC’s Late Friday, Last Comic Standing, Star Search, and in his own half-hour special on Comedy Central. He’s also been heard on various radio shows.
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
Info: Visit www.alohacomedyclub.com.
Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival coming Saturday
The 25th anniversary of the Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival has a full lineup of free, multi-cultural performing arts and hands-on demonstrations, plus over 150 crafters and food booths 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday.
Festivities are at various venues sprawling through the town’s center that will be indentified by pink banners. New to the festival is the Cherry Blossom Express — a Disney-themed “train” for small children offering rides at Church Row Park.
Festival parking is available at Parker Ranch Center, the soccer field across Church Row Park and along Pukalani Street. Festival shuttles offer free transportation among most venues from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. by Roberts Hawaii. A map of the shuttle route and festival venues is available in a detailed festival program available at each venue location.
Organized by members of the upcountry community and the county’s department of parks and recreation, the festival marks the blooming of the historic cherry trees at Church Row Park and celebrates the age-old Japanese tradition of hanami, which translates to “cherry blossom viewing party.” After a seasonal winter chill, the trees typically are blooming in early February.
The 2018 event artwork is “Celebrating the Bloom” by Waimea artist Anna Sullivan. Her original mixed media wood piece will be for sale — and appears on a limited number of $10 collector posters — at the Waimea Arts Council’s Firehouse Gallery. Sullivan will be present to sign purchased posters during the festival. Visitors to the gallery that day can also try their creative hands at chalk drawing on the concrete and surrounding sidewalks at Waimea Historic Corner Park.
Each year, the Waimea Arts Council has sponsored the cherry blossom art exhibition at the Firehouse Gallery to coincide with the festival. This year’s show, “Springtime and Cherry Blossoms,” featuring original art, prints, cards and fine crafts for sale by artist members, will remain on display through Feb. 24. A percentage of all sales will be donated by the artists to the council to fund various community art educational programs.
Also during Saturday’s festivities, the Thelma Parker Memorial Public and School Library will host “Ultraviolet Cherry Blossoms.” From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., participants can create cherry blossoms while exploring the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun on humans and blossoms. Patrons will learn how to test for UV exposure and protect themselves from UV radiation. This program is part of the Thelma Parker Library’s NASA@My Library initiative to promote STEM learning. Info: Call 887-6067.
Info: Search Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival on Facebook.
Lit Night slated Wednesday
The Hawaii Writers Guild will showcase stories and poems by members and invited guests from 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday during Lit Night at Thelma Parker Memorial Public and School Library in Waimea.
Open to the public, the event is free.
Info: Call 238-0551.
Wiliwili Festival Art Stroll benefits nonprofit
The seventh annual Wiliwili Festival kicks off Feb. 9 with the Wiliwili Festival Art Stroll — A Night Out to Benefit Dry Forest, an evening of art and entertainment in Waikoloa.
Headlining the 5:30-8:30 p.m. event at Waikoloa Stables are performances by Ira Varize, John Keawe, and Hoku Pa’a Trio. There will also be a silent auction, glow-in-the-dark putting contest, games for all and art sales.
Participating artists, who donate a minimum of 25 percent of their sales to benefit the nonprofit Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative, include Andrea Pro (woodblock printing), Calley O’Neill (fine giclee), Margaret Barnaby (woodblock printing), Charla Thompson (photography), and Tommy Adkins (photography), among others.
During the stroll, Pro will also offer a live demonstration of woodblock printing.
Food will be provided by Island Lava Java. There will also be an open bar with beer and wine and a whiskey and cigar bar.
General admission tickets are $45. A 10-person VIP table is $500.
Attendees can also take part in a Sip and Paint with O’Neill for $95 during which they will enjoy live music, pupu, and an open bar and learn to paint a wiliwili tree. O’Neill will guide participants through sketching and painting wiliwili trees.
Ticket sales and proceeds from the event benefit the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
The annual Wiliwili Festival, a family friendly event, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 10 at Waikoloa Stables.
Info: Visit www.waikoloadryforest.org.
Announcements
Leslie Munger KVA featured artist
Chain maille jewelry artist Leslie Munger is the Kailua Village Artists featured artist for February.
Chain maille is an ancient art form of linking tiny metal “jump rings” together to form a fabric mesh. Many centuries ago, medieval blacksmiths discovered that using tiny metal rings when meshed together were stab resistant and created ultra light armor protection. In the 1600s, chain maille started to be turned into jewelry for the first time. Today, it is still used for protective gear, such as butchers’ gloves and shark diving suits just to name a few.
Meet Munger and learn more about this ancient art form, while she is working at the gallery on Sunday, and Feb. 11 and 24.
The Kailua Village Artists Gallery is located at the Kona Marketplace on Alii Drive in Kailua Village. It is open 9:30 am.-5:30 p.m. daily.
Info: Call 329-6653.
Blue Sea Artisans featuring Denise Bird
The Blue Sea Artisans featured member artist for the month of February is digital photographer and designer Denise Bird.
Bird has always been attracted to the arts. Early in childhood, she was active in dance and the visual arts. Always making some sort of art piece to hang in her room or share with others, she loved to create. She also enjoyed performing dance numbers in many shows. In the 1970s, Bird became a beautician then a dancer/dance instructor and in the coming two decades she dabbled in photography and then went on to learn a wide variety of business aspects through various jobs and entrepreneurial pursuits. Teaching herself computer software programs, she became the art trainer at a large business forms company which allowed her to transition to her own company of design and printing.
Bird’s eye for beauty and art seem to come naturally and is still serving her well as a digital photographer and designer. Believing that nature provides the best light, she uses only natural lighting for all of her fine art photography.
Meet the artist when she is working from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Feb. 17 at The Blue Sea Artisans Gallery located in the Keauhou Shopping Center. The gallery is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday.
Info: Call 329-8000.
Aloha Theatre casts ‘Beauty and the Beast’
The Aloha Theatre has completed casting for its upcoming production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”
Some familiar faces and several newcomers will be on stage when the production opens for a five-weekend run on Feb. 9.
In the award-winning Broadway musical, based on the 1991 animated Disney film, a handsome but cold-hearted prince is transformed into a beast as punishment for his selfish ways. He eventually earns the love of the beauty he imprisons and breaks the curse at the eleventh hour. Be our guest for a delicious helping of wholesome family entertainment.
Nicole Aragon will appear as the heroine, Belle. The legendary Beast will be played by Winton Nicholson. John Cottle will flex his muscles as Gaston, and Jeremy Pyrc will light things up as Lumiere. Samantha Cook will sing the classic title song as Mrs. Potts. Additional cast members are Brooke Aragon, Christian Aragon, Christy Aragon, Wendy Buzby, Maka Cabatbat, Havilah Davis, Chamika Fujioka, Kaha’i Ha’i-Kelly, Derek Hall, Pamela Hicks, Megan Hodge, Pete Hoffman, Nikki Johnson, Kent Kane, Kira Kane, Bill Linaker, Jacques Malan, Harli Meech, Ezekiel Nicholson, Zara Nicholson, Zion Nicholson, Tatiana Stanley, and Katie Wickersham.
Tickets are $27 for adults, $24 for seniors, $22 for young adults and $10 for children. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Info: Visit www.alohatheatre.com.
Performing arts survey underway
JLI Consulting is conducting a study of Hawaii Island’s performing arts sector on behalf of the Hawaii Community Foundation.
The study, “Hawaii Island Performing Arts Survey — Public Perceptions,” is the first of its kind, and will help build a better understanding of the local appetite for performing arts events and future investments in the arts. JLI Consulting is seeking input from a diverse cross-section of community members from all backgrounds and walks of life.
The survey closes Monday. Participants can enter a drawing to win one of five $50 gift cards to Amazon, Starbucks or Long’s Drugs. The survey takes about 10-15 minutes and can be accessed online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/KRB9LMJ.
Info: Contact JLI Consulting at 352-3896.