Every Wednesday, one of our awesome HPR besties will keep you posted on happenings across our Islands that we're most stoked about. While each of us has a different perspective and set of interests, we all share a goal of helping you stay curious and connected across our Hawaiian Islands. Not yet subscribed? Subscribe today to see what's on around town, and to learn about our Social Club contributors.
This week, we hear from Kyla Herrmann, HPR's On-Air Campaign & Community Events Producer.
HPR’s Social Club — it's your guide to unique, can't-miss events across the islands. Sign up for the HPR Social Club.
Have an event to share? You can submit it to our HPR Community Calendar for consideration. We might feature it in a future newsletter or on the air!
Hi hi, Social Clubbers!
When life feels full, art stays open. Life can be a lot lately. Calendars stack, weeks blur, and somehow every invitation lands on the same three hours of the same day. I'm grateful for exhibitions like what's below, the kind that don’t ask you to be everywhere at once. Instead, they quietly stay open, waiting for you when you’re ready. No rush.
So consider this your gentle, cute date alert! Whether that’s with yourself, a friend, or someone whose hand you’re still figuring out how to hold hands with in public. Here are two shows you can wander into on your own time, breathe with, and maybe leave a little more inspired than you arrived.
First up: I missed the opening of “Dance on the Edge of the Witches’ Cauldron” at the Downtown Art Center in Honolulu's Chinatown on May 1, but luckily it’s still on view through May 29. Curated by Tom Klobe, this exhibition brings together five Hawaiʻi artists: Fred Roster, Pat Hickman, Allyn Bromley, Sally French (her work "Rock the Kazbah" is pictured, above), and Linda Kane.
Their work is described like it’s constantly leaning forward into risk, experimentation, and material curiosity. The title alone feels like a dare, and the work lives up to it: bold, playful, and deeply committed to pushing beyond limits. A reminder that art doesn’t always behave;
sometimes we can dance right at the edge of things.
Next up on the take a peek list, there’s FAUNA: Animal Imagery in the EWC Collection at the East-West Center Gallery in Mānoa on Oʻahu, open weekly through August 30. This one moves across cultures and centuries through animals in story, symbol, and spirit, from ceramics and textiles to sculpture and painting. Across Asia Pacific traditions, animals (see detail of "Horses" by South Korean artist Park Han Li at left) appear as protectors, messengers, tricksters, and companions, reminding us how deeply interconnected people and place really are. Described as quiet in a different way... expansive, reflective, and full of small discoveries if you let yourself linger.
And maybe that’s the invitation this week: don’t just consume art, respond to it. Sketch something after. Write a line of a poem. Doodle badly. Make something small that didn’t exist before you walked in. Let these works be less like destinations and more like starting points. Because life might be busy, and thankfully, art is patient.
Keep scrolling for more events. If you have something you'd like to share with the HPR team, submit it to our community calendar. We might feature it in a future Social Club newsletter.
Happy exploring!
Kyla
HPR Social Club's Picks of the Week:
Please note: Event details may change. Check organizer or event websites for the most up-to-date information.
STATEWIDE: DINNER AND A DOCUMENTARY - Reimagining Public Safety in Hawai‘i Coalition Dinner & Screening of 13th
Reimagining Public Safety in Hawai‘i Coalition
Dinner & Screening of 13th
Various locations across Hawai‘i
This statewide series invites the public to a free dinner and screening of the documentary "13th," followed by a conversation about the history of the American criminal legal system and how it has taken root in Hawai‘i. Each evening includes a shared meal (vegan and gluten-free options available), creating space not just for viewing and discussion, but for gathering in community across difference and geography. Free and open to all, RSVP online
Screenings will take place across the islands from 6 to 9 p.m.:
Oʻahu — Central Union Church of Honolulu (May 15)
Kauaʻi — Princeville Community Center (May 19)
Maui — Teran James Young Center (May 20)
Hawaiʻi Island — Island Nation (May 21)
OʻAHU: NORTH SHORE PRIDE - Aloha Benefit Concert with Special Guest Kenny Endo
Aloha Benefit Concert with Special Guest Kenny Endo
Moanalua High School Performing Arts Center
2825 Ala Ilima St. in Moanalua
Saturday, May 16, 7:00 p.m.
Join the Kahuku "Pride of the North Shore" Symphonic Band with special guest Kenny Endo in this benefit concert to raise funds for the recovery of the damaged instruments from the Kona Low Storms. In partnership with the Lāhui Foundation, the band aims to raise $150,000 to recover the damaged instruments. Join director of bands Ernest Taniguichi (recently interviewed on Classical Pacific - listen on demand) and Kahuku's talented youth musicians, including an appearance by the intermediate band and by Vocal Motion, the school choir, in this special event.
Free and open to all, donations cheerfully accepted at the door
HAWAIʻI ISLAND: OUR LIGHT - Opening Reception: “Our Light”
Opening Reception: “Our Light”
Illuminating Gender Diversity Through Portraits Formed in Smoke
Wailoa Center in Wailoa River State Park Recreation Area
200 Piʻopiʻo Street in Hilo
Friday, May 15, 5 to 7 p.m.
The Wailoa Center opens a moving new exhibition this month with "Our Light," a portrait series by Big Island artist and queer activist Adare that celebrates the stories and presence of Trans, Māhū, and non-binary people. Using fire, soot, smoke, and charcoal, the exhibition invites viewers into conversations around gender diversity, visibility, and community care through both visual art and storytelling. An opening reception takes place Friday evening, with additional Talk Story sessions and a free “Drawing Diversity” workshop planned throughout the exhibit’s run. "Our Light" is on view at the Wailoa Center through June 18. Free and open to all
KAUAʻI: THE SCIENCE OF KAPA - INPEACE’s Science of Kapa
INPEACE’s Science of Kapa
Kukui Grove Center
4411 Kikowaena St. in Līhuʻe
Daily through May 31, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Bring the whole ʻohana to Kukui Grove for a hands-on exploration of Hawaiian culture, creativity, and science. Presented by the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture (INPEACE), this pop-up invites visitors to experience the kapa-making process through Kilo (Observe), Noiʻi (Investigate), and ʻImi Loa (Explore) by blending ʻike Hawaiʻi with interactive learning, offering a thoughtful and engaging journey into one of Hawaiʻi’s most treasured cultural practices. Free and open to all
MAUI COUNTY: HERITAGE IN MOTION - Heritage in Motion: Tradition Transformed
Heritage in Motion: Tradition Transformed
ProArts Theater
1280 South Kihei Rd. at Azeka Plaza Makai in Kihei
Saturday, May 16, 7:30 p.m.
Jazz, soul, funk, and cultural storytelling come together in Heritage in Motion, a special AANHPI Heritage Month performance featuring Hawaiʻi trumpeter DeShannon Higa. Presented by ProArts Playhouse and Jazz Maui as part of the Pono Project, this musical journey explores identity as something living and evolving, rooted in tradition while constantly transformed through collaboration, improvisation, and sound. $15.90 - $31.80, tickets available online
📸 Out and about at one of these events? Snap a photo (or a selfie) and send it our way with your first name and location. We may share it in a future newsletter or on HPR's digital platforms.
NEXT WAVE JAZZ:
A few tickets remain for the Lucas Utley Ensemble performance at
6 p.m. on May 23. GET TICKETS
Due to the May 30,
6 p.m. performance selling out, we’ve added a 2 p.m. show featuring the Christina Sochor Trio. GET TICKETS
Sponsored by HMSA
Pau Hana & Talk Story - HPR Members & Friends Evening
HPR members and friends are invited to gather at the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo on May 21 at 4:30 p.m. for a relaxed pau hana and talk story — a chance to connect, ask questions, and hear directly from the people and voices behind Hawaiʻi Public Radio.
Our informal program includes:
HPR Update — CEO Meredith Artley shares what's happening at the station and what's ahead.
Life With Kīlauea — A candid conversation about what the recent eruption episodes have meant for Big Island communities, led by Naka Nathaniel, with Dr. Ken Hon of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Pelehonuamea Harman from the University of Hawaiʻi Hilo.
Music & Mana — A Q&A and live song selections with singer and composer Kaniaulono Hāpai and HPR Executive Producer of Music Zilla Barbosa.
We'd love to see you there — RSVP to secure your place
