About Town 3-1

Kona Masons meet Wednesday

Kona Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons meets Wednesday at the Kona Masonic Center, 73-5577 Kauhola St., No. 7, Kailua-Kona. The activities begin with dinner at 6 p.m., followed by a meeting at 7 p.m. Dessert will be available after the meeting.

All members of the craft residing or visiting the Kona area are invited to attend.

For more information or directions to the meeting site, call Lee Meyerson at 326-5661.

Park features program on gourd rattles

Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park presents “Become Inspired by the Authentic,” with 93 park events slated for 2012.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the park, two kumu hula (hula teachers) will inspire visitors with the art of ancient hula with the uliuli or gourd rattles as the featured musical implement. In ancient times, hula was danced for social enjoyment but its chants preserved epic tales, myths, history and philosophy of the native people.

The uliuli rattle is made from a small, round gourd from the laamia tree. The laamia gourd is dried, cleaned, drilled and sanded before being filled with aliipoe (canna seeds). These seeds give the uliuli a distinct sound. Lauhala strips are then used to fill the holes and gourd opening, coconut jute is used to tie the lauhala and form the handle, and the gourds are finished with kukui oil. These uli uli are crafted in the traditional style; in the ancient times, a coconut shell and coral pieces would have been used.

This cultural event, sponsored by Hawaii County, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Na Hoa Aloha o ka Puuhonua o Honaunau and Hawaii Pacific Parks Association, provides visitors, residents and the community a time and place to gather, learn, share and become inspired.

Entrance fees are $5 per vehicle or $3 per person for walk-ins.

For more information, leave message at 328-2326, ext. 1702.

Spring art camp for kids planned

The Society for Kona’s Education and Art will hold a spring art camp from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 13 through 15 at its site in Honaunau.

The camp’s theme, “Under the Sea,” is the inspiration for local artists and children ages 6-11 to create with painting, drawing, dance, multimedia and more.

The camp fee is $65. Those registered before March 5 get an early bird special of $55.

The organization is located in Honaunau between mile markers 105 and 106.

Call 328-9392 for more information or to register.

Buddhist temples planning event

Every year, the Buddhist temples from Honpa Hongwanji and Higashi Hongwanji come together to share their treasures with the public. This year, the “Treasures of Hongwanji” takes place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Sangha Hall in Hilo, 424 Kilauea Ave., on the grounds of Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin. Admission is free, and includes a collection of displays and sales of unique items and handcrafted foods, some of which are not easily available any other time of the year.

The event also features the intricate and soulful music of guitar soloist Unzan Pfennig, at 10:30 a.m. Also appearing on the bill will be the Puna Taiko group.

In addition to music, food will also be available for purchase. Some of the items expected this year are chicken sausage, chayote sambaizuke, milk bread, jams, yomogi dango, papaya namasu, Kona coffee (hot brewed and bags), jellies, ampan, ti leaf dango, sekihan, barbecued ribs, mini Spam musubi, smoked pork and more.

There will also be plants, vegetables, cherry blossoms and other flowers, crafts, displays, entertainment, kids’ activities and lucky number prizes.

For more information, contact Miles Okumura at 640-4602 or misterokumura@yahoo.com.

Coffee berry borer video available

A new farmer-to-farmer video about integrated beetle management is available online to help farmers manage the coffee berry borer beetle. The beetle has spread at an alarming rate through Kona, threatening the survival of Hawaii’s premier specialty crop.

“With some Kona coffee farmers still discovering the beetle infestation and others reporting a total crop loss, information is needed to saturate the community immediately,” said Suzanne Shriner, Kona coffee farmer and member of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association. “In a region such as Kona, where 700 farms are in close proximity, the beetle crosses farm boundaries with ease. Cooperation within the community is imperative to reduce everyone’s losses.”

Directed by Gary Sprinkle and featuring Shriner and Andrea Kawabata, University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agricutlure and Human Resources extension agent, the instructional video demonstrates the three main aspects of integrated beetle management: sanitation — removing cherries from the orchard in a timely manner; spraying the Beauveria bassiana fungus — the only legal, effective pesticide for the coffee berry borer; and trapping — helping identify trouble spots. Techniques for coffee mills are also highlighted.

This video is groundbreaking community collaboration in a time of crisis. The Kohala Center connected a small group of Kona coffee farmers, who had researched and condensed the basics of integrated beetle management from other coffee growing regions, with Kamehameha Schools, which had the capacity to magnify the quality of this project and access difficult to reach segments of the farming community. Kamehameha Schools, landowner of 70 percent of Kona coffee farms, was the primary funder of the video production, additionally printing and mailing DVDs to all its agricultural tenants. Kona Coffee Farmers Association, also a funder, had worked with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to approve the commercial Beauveria bassiana fungus in Hawaii. UH-CTAHR joined the project, adding to and verifying the scientific veracity of the instructional material, as well as taking the lead on further extension as more is discovered.

The video is available online at youtube.com/KamehamehaSchools in both English and Spanish versions. Because some farmers may not have Internet access, DVD copies will also be mailed to Greenwell Farms’ mailing list and be available at CTAHR in Kainaliu. The video will also be distributed to coffee farmers in Ka’u, who are just beginning to see the infestation.

Daughters of Hawaii, cousins to meet

The Daughters of Hawaii and Calabash Cousins meet at 1 p.m. March 8 on the Hulihee Palace lawn. The theme will be St. Patrick’s Day. Music and refreshments are planned. Guest speaker will be Sam Choy.

Guests and potential members are invited, men included.

For information regarding membership and more, call Bettina Linke at 324-7062, Lale Kam at 938-6394 or Sabine Andresen at 324-0179.