May 10 Friday
Aloha Friday cultural demonstrations are held every Friday, from 11 am – 1 pm on the porch of Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. This month’s offerings include: 1st Fridays - Lei making with Kaipo Ah Chong, 2nd Fridays - kapa stamping with Desiree Moana Cruz. 3rd Fridays - ʻukulele with Wes Awana, and 4th Fridays - Lauhala Weaving with Kuʻuipo Morales.
These free cultural events are supported in part by Hawai’i State GIA Wai Wai Program.
May 11 Saturday
The Volcano Art Center’s Jazz in the Forest series continues on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at 5:30 pm at Volcano Art Center Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village.
"Take a Giant Step Outside Your Mind-a history of jazz guitar music" will feature internationally known and respected guitarist and vocalist Benny Yutake, along with JP and the Jazztones.
The guitar has been a popular instrument for hundreds of years throughout the world, in various forms. We will visit many of the primary composers and performers, beginning with Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, and Taj Mahal, who gave us the song titling this program. We will then move along with Delta Blues from the South, to international influences with Django Reinhardt, and Hawaiian; to the development of jazz styles through the last century including the blues, as jazz moved up the river to Chicago, with Muddy Waters, Joe Turner, and T Bone Walker.
Then we are going to have fun with rock and roll as it changed the world during the 50's. Please come and experience our broadly drawn picture of this musical development.
The Jazztones will also feature JP Thoma on saxophones and clarinet, Joey Carroll on vocals, acoustic as well as electric bass, and Owen Matsui on percussion.
Tickets are $25 for VAC members ($30 non-members)! Ticket holders will be able to purchase pupu, beer and wine. Tickets are available for sale online at www.volcanoartcenter.org, or at VAC’s Administration Office in Volcano Village.
May 12 Sunday
Volcano Art Center is pleased to present the Volcano Chamber Players, classical music concert to celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 12, 2024, from 4 to 6pm at Volcano Art Center’s Dietrich Varez Hall in Volcano Village. Treat your mother or yourself to an afternoon of fine chamber music. Beverages and pupu will be available for purchase.
The concert is a special tribute to mothers and will entertain the entire family, seating is limited.
May 13 Monday
Write With Aloha returns!Beginning Monday, April 1st Aloha Theatre will reopen our classroom to local scribes.
Write With Aloha: FREE Writing WorkspaceOn Mondays from 2:30pm - 5:30pm, our doors are open for local writers of all skill levels to create, develop, and share their stories. This is a non-structured group of like-minded creatives. We invite you to join Jamie Hughes to take your time. *accepted donations will support the Aloha Theatre Education programs.Write With Aloha: Deep DiveMondays | April 1 - June 3 | 6:30pm - 8:30pmIn this 8-week course, led by Jamie Hughes, students will workshop ideas and discuss the essential elements of storytelling, plot structure, and how to create memorable characters with compelling arcs. The class culminates in a staged reading on the Aloha Theatre mainstage!Space is limited. Participants must commit to attend 6 out of 8 classes in person. Class Dates: 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 5/6, 5/13, 5/20, 5/27 (optional: Memorial Day)SHOWCASE: 6/3
Meet the Instructor:Jamie Hughes is a fantasy writer for the stage and film, with a particular interest in how stories can make us reevaluate and change cultural norms. He has a BA in Creative Writing and Film from Emory University, where he gained experience in set coordination, lighting/audio design and film editing and has an MFA in Writing for the Performing Arts from The University of California, Riverside where he directed several short films and plays. His one-act play, The Younger, about the fascinating life of Emperor Nero's mother, won the Aristine Mann award at Emory, and his short film script, We Are Not Rats, about the challenges women can face in STEM, won first place in the Write To Film competition at UCR. Jamie loves nothing more than discussing new work and getting to the root of what every script needs to be the best that it can be.
May 16 Thursday
The non-profit Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center hosts a free talk on May 16 as part of their “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace” Brown Bag Lunch Series. Talks are Third Thursdays from 12 noon to 1 pm via Zoom.
This month’s speaker is Paula Thomas on the topic "Elevate the Conversation: Who Can? You Can!”
"We enter into conversations for many reasons--to share, advise, educate, reprimand, gossip, persuade, defend, and more," says Thomas. "When emotions get triggered, anger rises. When we feel challenged or disrespected, listening stops. An easy flow of chatter can turn into a defensive posture or unexpected battle."
In this talk, learn some ways to shift a conversation that turns from fun to fraught, from talkative to tense.
Ku‘ikahi’s Brown Bag Lunch Series is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to enjoy an informal and educational talk-story session and connect with others interested in “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace.”cut and paste body of PR (do not include bio or contact info).
May 17 Friday
May 18 Saturday
Join us on Saturday, May 18th for the Hala Festival as we celebrate one of Hawaiʻi's most iconic native trees. Cherished for its versatile uses in weaving, leimaking, and other traditional practices, hala holds a special place in Hawaiian culture. Join us from 10am-2pm to learn from expert weavers and cultural practitioners and discover how you can play a role in protecting hala for future generations. Enjoy hands-on workshops, live entertainment, local vendors, and much more! This event is organized by the Big Island Invasive Species Committee in collaboration with Pōhaku Pelemaka.
May 19 Sunday
HEY, Big Island bluegrass ‘ohana! We're going to have another awesome jam at The OASIS in Pāhoa on May 19 from noon till 5PM!
We'll celebrate the life of Mother Maybelle Carter, born on May 10, 1909! The influence of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family on the music we love cannot be overstated. Let's sing some of their splendid old tunes at our jam!
Here's a few we might cover...
Wildwood Flower Keep On The Sunny Side Dixie Darlin' Wabash Cannonball In The Pines Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Bring your acoustic stringed instrument, a chair to sit on, a picnic lunch and something to drink, a jacket in case it gets windy, and a friend or two to enjoy the pickin'!
Just $5 to attend -- and it's FREE for keiki 12 and under, and current members of Bluegrass Hawai‘i! See ya there!!!
Kona Choral Society joins forces with Oahu Choral Society to create a community-based chorus of more than 100 singers. Partnering with instrumentalists from the Big Island, Maui, and Oʻahu, the groups will present Mozart’s Vesperae Solemnes de Confessore along with two works of the great American composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein: Chichester Psalms and Make Our Garden Grow from the operetta Candide.
May 20 Monday