Community Calendar

Annual fundraising event returns in March, to benefit local Special Olympics Hawaii athletes statewide.

4th Annual Paradise Plunge

The 4th Annual Paradise Plunge returns inviting supporters to make a splash and share a video or photo of themselves participating in a water activity in support of Special Olympics Hawaii athletes. Registration for this year’s Paradise Plunge will open on Monday, March 13, at 8 a.m.

Plungers are asked to raise a minimum $100 donation and will receive a Paradise Plunge event shirt. A reduced fundraising goal of $50 is offered to students through college and additional mahalo gifts will be awarded to “Passionate Plungers” who raise $500 and “Super Plungers” who raise $1,000.

Participants can take the plunge by planning a day to “sea” their favorite beach, going diving, boating, surfing, or even taking a dip in a swimming pool. Plungers can then send photos or a 60-second, horizontal video clip of themselves performing their “Paradise Plunge” via www.wetransfer.com to development@sohawaii.org. The deadline for submissions is Sunday, April 30. Following the completion of the event, Special Olympics Hawaii will release a 2023 Paradise Plunge compilation video on Friday, May 5, that participants are “shore” to enjoy and can share with donors and supporters.

Proceeds from Paradise Plunge will help Special Olympics Hawaii continue to provide year round sports trainings and competition and health, wellness and leadership programs for over 3,400 athletes statewide with intellectual disabilities, free of charge. Since 1968, Special Olympics has been changing attitudes about the talents of people with intellectual disabilities and raising awareness to build an inclusive and unified community.

For more information on Paradise Plunge, please visit www.sohawaii.org. Follow Special Olympics Hawaii on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sohawaii, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsHawaii, and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/sohawaii.

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About Special Olympics Hawaii

Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. Through programming in sports, health, education and community building, Special Olympics is changing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities solving the global injustice, isolation, intolerance, and inactivity they face.

Founded in 1968, Special Olympics Hawaii has grown and now serves over 6,000 athletes and Unified partners across the State of Hawaii. Through the unwavering commitment of 10,000 volunteers, along with community supporters, corporate partners and foundations, Special Olympics Hawaii delivers 10 Olympic-type sports and over 50 competitions, hundreds of health screenings, and inclusive programming in more than 70 schools annually.

There is never a fee to any athlete or family to participate in Special Olympics programs. Engage with us on: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Learn more at www.sohawaii.org

The University of Hawaii at Hilo Art Department is pleased to announce the opening of the “Exploring Conceptual Possibilities” exhibition, curated by Lamerol Gatewood.

The public is invited to view the artwork, which is currently on view, in the UH-Hilo Campus Center 301 and third floor Campus Center East Wing Galleries through April 21, 2023.

The invited presentation features work by Adjoa J. Burrowes, a Washington D.C area mixed media artist; Carl Hazlewood, artist, writer, curator and co-founder of the Aljira Center for Contemporary Art in Newark, New Jersey; Algernon Miller, a leading figure in the intellectual wing of Afrofuturism; Lisette Morel, a NJ based Dominican- American artist, mother, educator and occasional curator who embraces an untamed nomadic ritualistic practice; and Danielle Scott, a politically and socially charged, mixed media assemblage artist.

UH-Hilo Campus Center is open Monday through Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. To schedule your visit to Campus Center Gallery please call: (808) 932 - 7365

The Big Island Jazz And Blues Festival Music Series at the Redwater Cafe every Thursday 5-8 PM with 3 time Na Hoku winner Bill Noble on Saxophone and Loren Wilken on Piano in celebration of the 9th Big Island Jazz and Blues festival 2022

Bishop Museum, in partnership with the PAʻI Foundation’s Maoli Arts Movement (MAMo) initiative, presents the exhibition Ola Ka Noʻeau: Excellence in Hawaiian Artistry. This exhibition will explore the genealogy of Hawaiian artistry, particularly through generational transmission of knowledge. Visitors will experience the reaffirming practice and artwork from a Native Hawaiian perspective throughout the gallery. Works on view will include examples of featherwork, barkcloth, tool-making, decorated gourds, visual design, and plaiting. Ola Ka Noʻeau: Excellence in Hawaiian Artistry will feature artwork from 13 notable Hawaiian artists, highlighting the bond between teacher and student as a fundamental value in Hawaiian culture.

The Friends of Hawaii Kai Library bookstore will be having a 50% sale of all Fiction/Novels/Classics and Vintage books for the entire month of February.
There will also be a storewide sale during the second week of February only on the 6th - 11th (Library and Bookstore closed on Friday Feb 10th) that will include all books, DVDs, CDs, puzzles, comics , audio books, sheet music, and a great children's section also at 50% off.
NOTE: Effective 2/27/23 the Hawaii Kai Community Bookstore will begin new permanent hours with Sun/Mon closed, Tue/Wed 9:30-3:30pm. Thu/Fri 12:30-3:30pm and Saturday 9:30-3:30p.

Docent Garden Tour w/ admission

The Waimea Arts Council’s new show at The Firehouse Gallery features artists’ interpretations of island vistas that take your breath away, the quiet beauty of tucked away places, the power of a volcano or of the ocean, as well as interpretations of the culture and the history of all that makes Hawaii spectacular. “Scenes from the Big Island” includes fine art photographs, paintings, sculpture, ceramics and other creations by local artists and runs from March 3 to April 30, 2023.

Watching fountains of lava burst from Mauna Loa inspired artist Debby Dernberger to paint the goddess Pele within the eruption. “That’s creation, I thought as I watched the lava rise and flow down the mountain, said Dernberger. “Then I had a vision, a dream and so I painted my expressionist, surrealistic vision of the goddess of fire and volcanos!” Dernberger’s 12 “ x 24” acrylic painting is titled Pele Of Mauna Loa.

Well known kanaka maoali (native Hawaiian) artist, Moses Kealamakia, Jr states, “I respond to the two personalities of the ocean. One side of the island is very dramatic and stormy; the other side is calm with the ocean often appearing almost flat – the Ying and Yang,” For this show, he painted Kolekole Surf, on the Hamakua Coast, oil on canvas, 24” x 30.” Kealamakia says painting the land brings increased optimism and encourages curiosity to see and experience more of the wonder of the Big Island.

The Firehouse Gallery is located at 67-1201 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela, housed in the old firehouse on the Waimea Historic Corner Park. The gallery is open Friday through Sunday from 11-3 and whenever the flags out front are flying!

The Waimea Arts Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the arts, the encouragement of artists, and providing a forum for art-related community events. http://www.waimeaartscouncil.org

Registration is open for virtual high school summer school classes. Hawaii Technology Academy, a public charter school, offers courses so students can close potential learning gaps or explore new interests. Registration is until May 19 and open to all Hawaii resident students. Visit myhta.org/summer-school.html to view the course list and learn more.

Every Thursday, the day of our Haleiwa Farmerʻs Markets, Hawaiʻi residents can enjoy FREE admission to Waimea Valley between noon and 3. Come enjoy the Valley before you head to the market!

Must have proof of Hawaiʻi residency.

We hope to see you there!

The Friends of Hawaii Kai Library Bookstore will be having a sale of all Autobiography/Biography and True
Stories/True experiences books for the entire month of March.
The bookstore will also offer 50% off the Storewide sale only for the week of March 7 through March 12.
Please note the new hours of the Bookstore and the Public Library Closures of Sunday and Monday.