A & E Wrap-Up: 2-3-17

Shows & events

Holualoa Village Art-After-Dark this evening

The shops and art galleries of historic Holualoa Village will celebrate local art and music this evening from 5:30 until 8:30 pm. More than a dozen studios and stores will stay open late to welcome friends and visitors with new art work, pupu and music.

Ipu Arts Plus gallery will host live music and songs from Dr. Tim and the Medicine Band on its lanai and Dave “The Rippah” Lawrence will be cranking up classic rock ‘n’ roll at Koa Realty across from the Kona Hotel.

Holualoa Ukulele Gallery, now featuring an expanded showroom, will host popular Hawaiian and contemporary tunes by Mauka High Notes and refreshments on its front lanai.

Pat Pearlman Designs in the Kona Hotel is featuring the February’s birthstone, the amethyst, in rings, earrings and pendants.

Holualoa Gallery will offer street eats from Holoholoz Fresh Fish and Kona Dogs outside, along with live music and songs from Maestro Andrew Sweeney on keyboards. Holualoa artist William Wingert will be creating an original oil painting inside the gallery. Shop owners/artists Matthew and Mary Lovein will both be on hand to meet with visitors and old friends.

Glyph Art Gallery welcomes a new artist for the new year, photographer Don Slocum. Slocum’s “Sky, Sea, Earth And Beyond” series of float-mounted metal prints featuring starfield night skies, lava and Big Island landscapes will be on display.

M. Field Gallery will have the latest art by owners Mike and Terry Field and new photos by Darbs. Outside will be the Pizza Rovers, serving up fresh custom-made pizzas.

Parking will be available at the village parking lot.

Info: www.holualoahawaii.com.

West Hawaii County Band offers free concert

The West Hawaii County Band, a 20-piece band comprised of community members, will perform a free concert at 6:30 p.m. this evening at Hale Halawai in Kailua Village.

The concert will include classical music such as George Frideric Handel’s Water Music, traditional marches including “The Alpine March” and tunes from the Broadway musical “Evita.” The band is under the direction of guest conductor Richard Shields.

Info: www.westhawaiiband.com.

Mauna Lani hosts annual Fortune Festival

The Shops at Mauna Lani hosts its fourth annual free Fortune Festival from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

To ring in the Year of the Rooster, the colorful lion dancers of Big Island Shaolin Arts will perform and participants can “feed” the lions with red lai see envelopes for New Year blessings. There will also be a special premiere performance of “Tales of the Jade Emperor” by the Mo Min Kuen Monkey School.

Other highlights include martial arts performances, fire blowing, iChing fortune readings, relaxing massage, and a Chinese Lion display where visitors can pose for photos. In addition, participating shops will offer great sales and promotions to gong in the New Year. A variety of foods will also be available for purchase during the festival.

Info: www.shopsatmaunalani.com, 885-9501.

Queens’ MarketPlace welcomes Year of the Rooster

Queens’ MarketPlace welcomes the Year of the Rooster at its annual “Asian Fest” event this evening at Waikoloa Beach Resort.

Come celebrate with the vibrant lion dancers and driving rhythms of drums from around the world at the free event, which gets underway at 5 p.m. At the get-go, the Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko (Okinawan-style percussion and dance) will perform followed by the Hawaiian Lion Dance Association Meet and Greet at 5:55 p.m., Kona Daifukuji Taiko at 6:30 p.m. and the Visayan Club featuring Filipino dancers at 7 p.m. The event will close with a lion dance starting at 7:20 p.m. at Island Gourmet Markets.

Attendees will also be able to have a lycee (red envelope) ready with “lettuce” to feed the lion and ensure good health and fortune in 2017. The free event also features free food samplings.

Info: www.queensmarketplace.net.

‘From the Highway’ on exhibit at Wailoa Center

“From the Highway” will be the focus in the Main Gallery of Wailoa Center for the month of February.

Dick Mortemore, artist and educator, displayed his first “From the Highway” exhibit back in 1972, 44 years ago. This year, he has invited local artists Carol Tredway and Reyn Ojiri, photographers Lanaya Deily and Jennifer Osborn, and ceramic artist Emily Herb to interpret their versions of “From the Highway.”

An artists reception is slated this evening from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Hilo gallery. Light refreshments will be served during the reception, which is free and open to the public.

Mortemore’s passion for the environment has lead him to illustrating and writing articles on wildlife for national publications, publishing a series of nature guides on Hawaiian wildlife, to becoming the director of Keakealani Outdoor Education Center and the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens. He has also received a State of Hawaii Conservation Award for his work in environmental education for the children of Hawaii. His paintings are in private collections in 28 states and England.

Holualoa resident Tredway is an award-winning artist who fits in perfectly with the theme “From the Highway.”

Tredway’s depictions of the island’s nature is becoming increasingly noticeable within the Big Island art scene by her participation in the Hawaii Nei Art Contest, Kona Coffee Cultural Festival and other juried shows around the island. Originally from Kaneohe, Oahu, she attended the Windward Community College and the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Ojiri, born and raised in Hilo, feels fortunate to call Hawaii his home. He began painting while in college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and has continued to paint since. As an undergraduate, he majored in plant and environmental biotechnology and minored in art and attended the graduate science illustration program at California State University, Monterey Bay. He gained additional experience by completing internships at the Bishop Museum, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

Ojiri’s first experience in the world of fine art began when he entered the Hawaii Nei art competition in 2010, and has continued to grow since.

Deily loves taking photos of Hawaii’s native flora and fauna. Many of her plant and animal photos were taken near her home in the Volcano area or in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where the native habitat provides many opportunities. Non-native’s also offer great subjects, and using Photoshop filters, Deily adds another layer of interest.

Deily was the photographer and graphic artist for the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens for 10 years, and also worked with Friends of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Her photography has been published locally and exhibited in shows at the Wailoa Center and Volcano Art Center.

Osborn, born and raised in Hilo, is a self-taught artist and photographer who draws inspiration from the unique beauty of Hawaii Island and the richness of the Hawaiian culture. She has been photographing the listand for the more than 26 years.

Herb was born in the Midwest, but has lived in diverse areas such as Utah, Alaska, Arizona, Seattle and Hawaii. Her work has always been inspired by the natural world, and by birds in particular. Since moving to Hawaii in 1998, her work has focused mainly on birds and plants found in the islands. Since 2007, she has lived in Volcano Village with her husband Dalyn, and two cats.

She has been making pottery for over 30 years and currently works with stoneware clay, beginning by throwing forms on the potter’s wheel. Then, using hand-building techniques such as adding coils, paddling, cutting clay away, and sculpting, she reshapes the vessels, often into forms inspired by birds. The forms are also decorated with incised designs and colored slips and glazes.

The Fountain Gallery’s extended exhibit of “Before There Was a Park” by William Sewell, depicting the footprint of the Wailoa State Recreation Area before the 1960 tsunami, will also be on display.

Wailoa Center is free and open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

Info: 933-0416, wailoa@yahoo.com.

Annual Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival Saturday

Waimea’s famous cherry blossoms have emerged, awashing the North Hawaii town in pink ahead of the annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival.

The ornamental trees bloom annually during January and February following a good winter’s chill and plenty of rain. The trees draw thousands of people each year to enjoy the delicate blossom at Church Row Park and around town.

Celebrating the season’s first bloom dates to eighth century Japan when aristocrats would enjoy the blossoms while writing poetry. “Hanami,” literally “flower look,” is the Japanese word for “cherry blossom viewing party.”

The 24th installment of the Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at various locations across Waimea town. This year’s festival is dedicated to long-time event partner Roberts Hawaii and Guinness World Record holder Betty Webster of Waimea.

The festival began in 1993 to promote the town when a bypass was proposed that would have routed people around Waimea. Since 1994, when the Waimea Lions Club inaugurated the event, the Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival has grown to stretch from one side of town to the other, with more than 150 vendors at various locations.

Waimea’s first cherry trees arrived in 1953 as a memorial to Fred Makino, who founded the Japanese language newspaper Hawaii Hochi in 1912. Three ornamental cherry trees were distributed, one of which was propagated, and 20 of its saplings were later donated to the Waimea Lions Club to be planted along Church Row Park in 1972.

In 1975, the organization planted 50 more trees in commemoration of the first Japanese immigrants to settle the Waimea area a century earlier. Over the years, additional trees have been planted in recognition of dignitaries and other community members and leaders.

DMAC hosts artist talk with Eirik Johnson

Seattle-based photographer and mixed-media artist Eirik Johnson will offer a free artist talk from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Donkey Mill Art Center.

Johnson has exhibited his work at spaces including the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and the Aperture Foundation in New York. He has received numerous awards including the 2012 Neddy at Cornish Award in Open Medium, a Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant in 2009, the Santa Fe Prize in 2005, and a William J. Fulbright Grant to Peru in 2000.

His work is in the permanent collections of institutions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Seattle Art Museum, and the George Eastman House, Rochester, NY. His second monograph, “Sawdust Mountain,” was published by Aperture in 2009. His first book “Borderlands” was published by Twin Palms Press in 2005. Johnson’s editorial work has appeared in publications including the New York Times Magazine, Metropolis, Dwell, Audubon, GQ, and the Wall Street Journal.

Johnson is currently a visiting faculty at the University of Washington, Cornish College of the Arts, and the Photography Center Northwest.

Attendees are asked to bring a potluck item to share.

Info: www.donkeymillartcenter.org.

Zonta Fashion Frenzy kicks off Thursday

The Zonta Club of Hilo presents Zonta Fashion Frenzy, Hawaii Island’s premier fashion event Thurdsay through Feb. 11 in Hilo.

Headlined by Maui’s Koa Johonson of Kojo Couture and Oahu’s Lauren Hayashibara of 19th & Whimsy, the event features more than 60 local designers and businesses.

Fashion Frenzy puts the clubs mission — empower women through service and advocacy — into action by creating a venue for local designers and women-owned businesses to showcase their unique talents and products.

The event kicks off Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Wainaku Center with Dine Like a Diva with Jasmine Silverstein of HeartBeet Catering and Casey Halpern of Café Pesto preparing a locally sourced, fashion-inspired menu. Each pupu will incorporate a fashion element by a participating designer, from garment silhouette and fabric texture/color to collection theme. Tickets are $65, which includes food and wine bar curated by Kadota Liquor.

On Feb. 10, the community is invited to attend the Friday Night Market from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Sangha Hall. The market features nearly 45 fashion, art and food pop-ups, specialty cocktails, craft beer and wine, live music, photo booth and mini fashion shows on the hour. There is no cover charge and all ages are welcome.

The finale Runway Fashion Show takes place on Feb. 11 at Imiloa Center. A showcase of Hawaii’s leading and emerging designers, headliners Kojo Couture (Koa Johnson, Maui) and 19th & Whimsy (Lauren Hayashibara, Oahu) are joined by Alohiwai, Wehi Designs, Colors of Life, Simply Sisters, Hana Hou Hilo and Vested Interest Hawaii from Oahu. Tickets are $60 and includes fashion show followed by a pupu reception and exclusive shopping experience with designers. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., show starts at 6.

All event proceeds go to the Zonta Club of Hilo Foundation to support local service projects including “Pay it Forward,” a program that provides micro-grants to women starting or expanding a business; scholarships for young women furthering their education in STEM, business and nursing; and a “Dress for Success” program to benefit Hawaii Island women in need. The club was founded in 1950.

Info: www.zontafashionfrenzy.org.

Announcements

Big Island Quilt Shop Hop underway

The ninth annual Big Island Quilt Shop Hop continues through Feb. 28 featuring five different shops from Kona to Hilo.

Traveling quilters can have passports stamped for a chance to win prizes, collect quilting patterns and kits to create a custom quilt, and enjoy the company of fellow quilters islandwide.

Those who visit and get passports stamped at all five shops are eligible to win the grand prize. Other winners will receive fabric, quilt shop gift certificates and more — with special in-store prizes at individual shops, for a total of 11 winners. The five shops will also have exclusive quilt block patterns, one from each store.

The hop launched Feb. 1. Maps and passports can be picked up any quilt shop on the route, and “shop-hoppers” can follow their own path, or sign up for one of two bus tours. In West Hawaii, call Karen Barry at Quilt Passions, 329-7475. In East Hawaii, call Leimomi at Kilauea Kreations II, 961-1100.

Info: bigislandquiltsh@earthlink.net.

Kailua Village Artists featuring Culbertson during February

The Kailua Village Artists featured artist for the month of February is watercolor artist and digital designer Stefanie Culbertson.

Culbertson moved to Hawaii in 1989 and been fascinated with this lush, tropical island that inspires her art and grown deep roots here. She has been painting in watercolors for more than 26 years and holds a bachelor’s degree in digital design.

Culbertson was part of KVA in the early 1990s and rejoined the group in 2011. She is known for her bright and vivid growing watercolor collection, the “Anuenue Series” that illuminates her images of land and sea in bright rainbow colors and her “Fire-Earth-Air & Water Series.”

In her latest featured artwork, she combines her watercolor painting and digital design skills. In her piece, “Yin Yang Earth,” Culbertson explores the opposites of black and white, night and day, feminine and masculine, water and fire, sun and moon, etc. The opposites attract and complement each other in the yin (black) and yang (white) symbol. Each side has at its core an element of the other. Neither is superior to the other.

In the painting, Culbertson envisions harmony and balance in the world. She painted each half of the Earth in the core of the yin and yang with rainbow colors. The yin yang is surrounded by the cosmic energy rays that constantly swirl and are always in motion and changing, reflecting our own continuous strive to stay balanced. She added a quote by Ghandi in her design to inspire the viewer to be humble and open to look within to change, evolve and grow.

Meet Culbertson while she is working at the gallery on Feb. 11 and 25, as well as during the Kokua Kailua Village Stroll on Feb. 19.

The Kailua Village Artists Gallery, located at 75-5729 Alii Drive, Suite C-110 in the Kona Marketplace, is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily.

Info: 329-6653.

Blue Sea Artisans names Boswell featured artist

The Blue Sea Artisans Gallery featured artist for the month of February is potter and sand art artist Teresea Boswell.

Boswell moved to Hawaii in 1990 and has since embraced the artisan movement, exploring many mediums and being actively involved in the art community. Her love of exploring the local beaches and collecting beach sand, sea glass and sea shells inspires her many creations of sand art from beautiful vases, lamps and candle holders to picture frames.

In 1993, Boswell immersed herself in pottery and has carved a niche with her unique stoneware clays featuring the many beautiful leaves and ferns Hawaii has to offer. Her work process involves hand-forming the clay, imprinting the leaves on the clay, showcasing their individual textures, hand painting and firing them.

In 2009, Boswell founded the Blue Sea Artisans Gallery, where she hosted a range of local artists. In May 2013, she turned the gallery over to its members and it transformed into a cooperative gallery.

Boswell will take part in a reception and will host a Valentine’s Day card making station from 1 to 4 p.m. on Feb. 11 at Keauhou Shopping Center. There is no charge for this activity, while supplies last, and parents must accompany children ages 5 and up.

The gallery is located in the Keauhou Shopping Center in Kailua-Kona and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Info: 329-8000.

Shimabukuro to headline HPAF concert

The Hawaii Performing Arts Festival will present ukulele phenomenon Jake Shimabukuro in concert Feb. 10 at Mauna Lani Bay Resort and Bungalows.

The concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m., will be preceeded by a not-so-silent auction beginning at 5:30 p.m. Proceeds from this annual fundraising event go toward scholarships for young artists and HPAF’s upcoming summer festival in July.

Shimabukuro’s wide-ranging repertoire includes “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Hallelujah” and “Nessun Dorma,” as well as selections from his new CD, “Nashville Sessions,” which is regarded as one of the ukulele wizard’s most adventurous and multifaceted recordings yet.

At the suggestion of his manager, Jake went into a Nashville studio to jam with two top Nashville session players.

“At first I was hesitant,” Shimabukuro admits. “We’re just going to go in and jam? Really? With nothing prepared? I never dreamed we would leave the studio six days later with a full album.”

“I always try to maintain a balance of traditional music with the edgier modern sounding pieces. Every show is a little different, which keeps things fresh and exciting. The most important thing is everyone has a great time and walks away with a smile.”

Hawaii Performing Arts Festival is an internationally renowned classical music training and performance program based in Waimea, now preparing for its 13th annual summer festival with live performances throughout the month of July. More than 30 concerts will be presented, several of them free, at venues around Hawaii Island and on Oahu.

Info/tickets: www.hawaiiperformingartsfestival.org, 333-7378

Eroica Trio returns to Kahilu Theatre

The Eroica Trio, considered by many to be the most sought-after classical music trio in the world, makes their way back to Kahilu Theatre for the first time in more than 10 years.

The Grammy-nominated Eroica Trio enraptures audiences with flawless technical virtuosity, irresistible enthusiasm, and sensual elegance. Sara Sant’Ambrogio, Erika Nickrenz, and Sara Parkins make up this celebrated ensemble that electrifies the concert stage with their passionate performances.

The trio will weave its way through musical masterpieces, including “Chaconne” by Johann Sebastian Bach, “Otono Porteno” and “Primavera Portena” by Astor Piazzolla, “Aria” by Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Antonin Dvorak’s “Dumky Trio,” during the performance slated at 4 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Waimea theater.

Winners of the prestigious Naumburg Award, the Eroica Trio has extensively toured the United States, Europe, Middle East, South America and Asia. While maintaining their demanding concert schedule, the trio has released eight critically lauded recordings for Angel/EMI classics Records, garnering them multiple Grammy Award nominations.

Doors open at 3 p.m. for the performance. Tickets range in price from $20 to $68 and can be purchased online at www.kahilutheatre.org, by calling 885-6868, or at the theater box office from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays.

Info: www.kahilutheatre.org

‘Swan Lake,’ ‘Rusalka’ to be screened this month

“Swan Lake” and “Rusalka” make for an exceptionally romantic February for Kona ballet and opera lovers.

On Sunday, live from Moscow, the Bolshoi Ballet presents one of the most musically soaring ballets, “Swan Lake,” by Tchaikovsky. As he hunts by a mysterious lake, Prince Siegfried (Denis Rodkin) encounters wild swans, who surround the lovely swan Odette. As darkness falls, they are transformed into exquisite girls, freed temporarily from an enchantment.

The prince pledges Odette his love, promising to return the next day. But the wicked enchanter sends Odile, intent on the prince’s destruction. What happens next can break our hearts for the beauty of the dancing and for the fragility of life.

Tickets for the 12:55 p.m. Sunday show range in prince from $16 to $19.

On Feb. 25, enchantment falls again by a lake, as a prince (sung by Brandon Jovanvich) finds a beautiful water spirit with whom he fall s in love. Dvorak, drawing on folk-tales and musical themes, tells the story of Rusalka (sung by Kristina Opolais) who gives up her immortality to the extremely wicked witch, Jezibaba, (sung and enacted by Jamie Barton) expecting her Prince will be true to his vows of love.

Rusalka expects reciprocal faithfulness and love but the human heart can be distracted yet ultimately true. This makes for a dramatic second act of sorrow and hope. The Metropolitan Opera offers this imaginative new staging and some highly acclaimed voices LIVE from the Met, in HD, at 12:55 p.m. Feb. 25. An encore presentation is at 6 p.m. on March 1. Tickets range in prince from $22 to $24.

Both performances at the Stadium 10 Regal Theater at the Makalapua Center in Kona. Tickets are available from the box office, www.fandango.com, and www.fathomevents.com.

Classes & workshops

DMAC to host parent-child painted bouquet workshop

Rosie Maldonado will lead a parent-child painted bouquet workshop on Feb. 11 at Donkey Mill Art Center.

During this three-hour workshop that starts at 2 p.m., participants will get a chance to create their own unique flower bouquet using different techniques and art styles with their keiki. Both will explore observational drawing along with watercolor and oil pastel resist painting, altered paper, and layering and collage to create a 3D mixed media piece to give to a loved one or to keep for yourself.

Tutition is $15 per person, plus a $5 supply fee.

Info: www.donkeymillartcenter.org, 322-3362.

Jin An Wong to lead beginning pastels workshop

Arne Jin An Wong will lead a beginning pastels workshop from noon to 3 p.m. March 18 at the Society for Kona’s Education and Art in Honaunau.

This introductory workshop will teach you the techniques of using pastels to create a still life painting.

Jin An Wong is an award winning artist, animator, and filmmaker. Tuition is $25 for SKEA members and $30 for nonmembers. The cost of the workshop includes all supplies.

Register: 328-9392. ■