–Courtesy photo
SATURDAY, APRIL 20-MONDAY, APRIL 22
Activities focused on caring for the planet abound this weekend
Earth Day is Monday and opportunities abound to either do good for the earth or learn what you can do to better care for our aina.
One option: Join Sustainable Hawaii to clean coastlines spanning from Sandy Beach, pictured, to Pyramid Rock at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay on Saturday, as part of an early Earth Day celebration.
The beach cleanup begins at 9:30 a.m. Show up at the beach access of choice to sign in.
Afterward, volunteers are invited, with discounted $5 admission, to an Earth Day Celebration at Sea Life Park’s Makapu’u Meadows, featuring local performers including Summer, The Urchinz, HI Remedy and Shawn Kaua’awa-Mokuahi Garnett. Info: sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org.
Earth Day, founded in 1970, has evolved to Earth Month, and many environmentally conscious groups have events planned.
Among them:
» Earth Day Celebration, noon-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sea Life Park’s Makapu’u Meadows. Live music, games, art and speakers. $15, $12 ages 3 to 11. Bring an empty Coca-Cola product for half-price admission. SeaLifeParkHawaii.com
» Grow Hawaiian Festival, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Bishop Museum. Learn kapa making, lauhala weaving and laau lapaau (healing with plants). Also learn about conserving energy and enjoy keiki activities, musical entertainment and hula. Free for kamaaina and military. 543-7511 or growhawaiian.heco.com
» Honolulu Zoo Earth Day, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Honolulu Zoo. This family-friendly celebration offers educational posters, coloring books, keiki activities and a Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary booth with kids’ marine science activities. Zoo admission: $4-$14. honoluluzoo.org
» Green Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at Manoa Public Library. Malama Manoa presents demos on raising chickens, composting and worm composting, with giveaways of kalo, ti and ko, and recyclable craft activities for all ages. Bring a HI-5 can or bottle for a “Lucky Draw” raffle ticket. Free. 988-0459
» Earth Day at Pearl Harbor, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Hickam Harbor Marina, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Play kids’ games or learn about boating safety, humpback whales and the disentanglement program, with special guest appearance by “Coastie” the friendly Coast Guard boat. Free for Navy Exchange patrons and those with base access. 449-5215 or hookelenews.com
» Garden party, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden, Kaneohe. Hike in the wetlands, catch and release a fish, meet an endangered waterbird and enjoy a picnic lunch. Free. 233-7323
» Whales and dolphins talk, 6:30-8 p.m. Monday, University of Hawaii at Manoa Architecture auditorium. Hawaii Pacific University biology professor Brenda Jensen will discuss Hawaii’s marine ecology for whales and dolphins, and the effects of organic pollutants and manmade ocean trash. Free. b-e-a-c-h.org/lectureseries.html
– Nina Wu
SATURDAY, APRIL 20
Makana teaming up with HPU orchestra
–Courtesy photo
Slack-key artist Makana is riding high these days, and he’s bringing his excitement to a unique event at Hawaii Theatre this weekend. He’ll be performing slack key accompanied by the Hawaii Pacific University Orchestra in “Ki Ho ‘Alu Meets Classical: HPU Orchestra with Makana.”
He’s been working on a new album, due out this summer, with “some legendary characters,” he said, citing producer/arrangers Ron Nevison, Jeff Nova and Mitchell Froom, and ripping off their credits as quickly as a blues riff: Led Zeppelin, the Who, Heart, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Celine Dion, Crowded House and Sheryl Crow.
“This album is very diverse,” Makana said. “It does have beautiful solo acoustic work that I’m known for. It also has songs that are produced almost like Beatles (or) Elton John style.”
He’ll be playing one of the new tunes, “Tears,” with the HPU orchestra.
“It’s just epic,” he said, comparing it to a tune he did for the soundtrack of the film “The Descendants.” “I’m really expanding my sound, and there’s a bigger audio world that you enter into when you listen to this record.”
Makana said he’s found it fulfilling to work with an orchestra — in some cases, finally hearing sounds that he had only imagined while composing. “It’s epic, it’s orgasmic,” he said. “We were rehearsing last night and my goodness, I was freaking out.”
The orchestra members also have perked up at the new works. “This is new territory for any symphony, really creating some unique blends of sounds that I don’t think have been done before,” he said.
The HPU orchestra will open with “Rhapsody with Blue,” with University of Hawaii at Manoa piano professor Thomas Yee soloing.
Where: Hawaii Theatre, 1130 Bethel St.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Cost: $7-$22
Info: hawaiitheatre.com or 528-0506
– Steven Mark
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24-SUNDAY, APRIL 28
Dance students present social, cultural themes
–Courtesy photo
If there’s anything to be learned from all those dance shows on TV these days, it’s the notion that dance can have meaning beyond just bodies moving to music. That’s why it’s worth it to check out Spring Footholds, the annual performance presented by students of the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Theatre and Dance Department.
This year, several of the works showcase new choreography that address social and political issues. Graduating senior Sami Akuna, for example, incorporates the Japanese avant-garde movement known as butoh in discussing nuclear warfare in four separate pieces — “The Calm,” “The Storm,” “The Light” and “The Dark” — while fellow senior Rashida Jewel Vennie addresses social issues in her work “The Importance of Choice,” with spoken-word poetry providing the backdrop for the dance.
Asian cultural themes will be present in works such as Devon Izumigawa’s “Star Sign,” a mixture of Mongolian folk and classical Chinese dance techniques, and Malia Wild’s “Ascension,” which explores aspects of Japanese mythology as related to two deities, Marishiten, the goddess of light, and Amaterasu, the sun goddess.
But sometimes there’s nothing like good dance set to good dance music, and that’s what can be expected from Kent Shinomae, another senior whose work is highlighted in the concert. His work “Driven” combines modern dance with EDM, electronic dance music, to give the viewer a sense of “acceleration.”
Where: Earle Ernst Lab Theatre, University of Hawaii at Manoa
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday-April 27, 2 p.m. April 28
Cost: $5-$16
Info: etickethawaii.com or 944-2697
Also: A post-show discussion will be held after the April 26 performance
TICKER:
Folk artists Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine, aka Dala, appear at Surfer, The Bar, Turtle Bay Resort, 8 p.m. Saturday; $25, flavorus.com, surferthebar.com