In “Bending Colours,” Jordy Smith shreds waves around the world. It screens at 1 p.m. Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. July 16 and 1 p.m. July 19. (Courtesy photo)
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
Enjoy community event, bon dance in Moiliili
Strap on your bon dance sandals Saturday for the Moiliili Summer Fest, which this year is being held in conjunction with Moiliili Hongwanji Mission’s bon dance.
The festival features a full slate of entertainment, keiki games and more than 30 food and retail vendors. Among the performers are Jody Kamisato’s Ukulele Hale studio, taiko drum performers from Pacific Buddhist Academy, and acoustic soul-folk duo Tahiti Rey and Jason. Kreyz Oshiro of Island 98.5 will emcee.
“There’s been a new inspiration and enthusiasm for the community, and so that’s what the festival is about,” said spokesman Bobby Lambrix.
If you feel like you’re not ready to dance for Saturday’s big crowd, you can practice today at 5 p.m., when the Moiliili Hongwanji Mission holds its first bon dance.
» Where: 1100 University Ave. (Varsity Building parking lot)
» When: 5 p.m. Saturday
» Cost: Free
» Info: moiliilisummerfest.com
(Joah Buley / Special to the Star-Advertiser)
SATURDAY-AUGUST 1
Surf film fest explores people’s love of the ocean
A summer swell brings the sixth annual Honolulu Surf Film Festival to the Doris Duke Theatre this weekend, with 24 feature and short films from around the world and several filmmakers and athletes in attendance.
The festival starts with a reception at 6 p.m. Saturday, featuring Honolulu band Mano Kane, food from Da Spot and beer and wine for purchase, followed by a screening of Nathan Oldfield’s “The Heart and the Sea,” a meditation on the joys of surfing.
A closing reception — set for 6 p.m. July 28 before the screening of Bud Browne’s 1973 classic “Gun Ho!” — also will feature Mano Kane, food, beer and wine. After the film, Browne archivist Anna Trent Moore will lead a panel discussion with surfing legends Peter Cole, Ricky Grigg and Kimo Hollinger.
Michelle McNeil, one of the first women to race at Signal Hill, a notorious Southern California speed-skateboarding run, appears at the 7:30 p.m. Wednesday screening of “Signal Hill Speed Run.”
Director Richard Yelland will attend the screening of “Sine Qua Non: The Psychology of Big Wave Surfing,” at 7:30 p.m. July 13, with “Jaws: Changing the Game” also showing at that time.
Director Justin LePera and producer Geoff Clark will appear at a 7:30 p.m. July 19 screening of “Isolated,” which looks at the war-torn region of West Papua New Guinea.
Director Jeremy Rumas will give a live narration and performance at the showing of “Hangs Upon Nothing,” which follows Chuck Corbett, a surfer who left everything behind to surf the atolls of Kiribati, 7:30 p.m. July 20 and 1 p.m. July 31.
Meet Norm Hann, a Canadian paddleboard athlete and activist, at “Stand,” which mixes ocean adventure with issues surrounding a proposed Northern Gateway pipeline at British Columbia’s coast, at 1 p.m. July 24. “Stand” screens with “Groundswell,” also set along the B.C. coastline.
» Where: Doris Duke Theatre
» When: Saturday-Aug. 1
» Cost: $8-$15. Festival pass (10 films, opening and closing nights excluded), $72-$90
» Info: honolulumuseum.org or 532-8701
» Also: For a full schedule, see our Arthouse listings.
SATURDAY
Top-notch auction highlights Kumu Kahua Theatre benefit
Three years ago Kumu Kahua Theatre was on the brink of shutting down the only local stage committed to the work of local playwrights.
(Courtesy photo)
Theater managing director Donna Blanchard said the theater is doing better now, finishing “very slightly” in the black last season and likely close to even this year on its $230,000 budget. Cuts to spending on marketing and some new sponsorships have helped.
Still, the theater could use the public’s help at its Kala-Bash Fundraiser and auction on Saturday, and it’s got plenty to offer.
The fundraiser includes live music from Hiyah Fire, Sean Cleland and Beauty and the Beast, featuring Stephanie Keiko Kong (pictured).
There’ll be food from Brasserie du Vin, The Chart House, Ige’s Restaurant and 19th Puka, Murphy’s Bar & Grill and Side Street Inn.
Guided architectural tours of the area will be offered throughout the evening.
Auction items include round-trip tickets from Alaska Airlines to any of its destinations and enough points from Hawaiian Airlines for an interisland trip.
“Because we’re an arts organization, we also attract a lot of really cool art to our silent auction,” Blanchard noted. “We have some gorgeous jewelry this year.”
Friston Ho’okano has donated some of his “steampunk” jewelry, and there will be raku pottery up for auction, among many other items.
Blanchard said she considers a beautiful Kamaka ukulele (pictured) “the prize” of the auction.
» Where: Kumu Kahua Theatre, 46 Merchant St.
» When: 5-9 p.m. Saturday
» Cost: $50
» Info: kumukahua.org or 536-4441
– Steven Mark
Kumu hula Robert Cazimero’s all-male Halau Na Kamalei Lililehua. (Courtesy photo)
THURSDAY-JULY 21
UH celebrates dance culture across Asia-Pacific region
A presentation by three celebrated kumu hula kicks off the Asia Pacific Dance Festival on Thursday at Kennedy Theatre.
Kumu hula Robert Cazimero, Vicky Holt Takamine and Michael Pili Pang will discuss their personal backgrounds in hula and how they develop new hula choreography.
“We are often asked how we can call ourselves traditionalist while at the same time we focus on creative endeavors. This concert is meant to start that conversation,” Pang said in a statement. The presentation includes performances by Pang’s Halau Hula ka No’eau, Takamine’s Pua Ali’i ‘Ilima and Cazimero’s all-male Halau Na Kamalei Lililehua.
The festival also spotlights dances of Taiwan, New Zealand and Korea. Taiwan is represented by the Taipei National University of the Arts, which offers training in traditional and aboriginal folk dances of China and Taiwan.
New Zealand is sending the Atamira Dance Company, considered the leading exponent of Maori contemporary dance theater in the country. Also featured: Samulgwangdae, combining traditional samulnori drumming from Korea with modern and traditional dance genres.
» Where: Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawaii at Manoa
» When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
» Cost: $5-$60
» Info: www.etickethawaii.com or 944-2697
Also:
» 2 p.m. July 14: Samulgwangdae — Dance and Drums of Korea. $10-$60.
» 6 p.m. July 19: Asia Pacific Dance Festival welcoming ceremony. Free.
» 7:30 p.m. July 20: “Journeys,” dances from Taiwan, New Zealand and Hawaii. $5-$60.
» 2 p.m. July 21: “Journeys,” dances from Taiwan, New Zealand and Hawaii (different program from July 20). $5-$60.
TICKER
The 14th Te Mahana Hiro’a o Tahiti (Tahitian Dance Competition) is Wednesday-July 13 at the Polynesian Cultural Center; $6-$10, 293-3333.