Bem Vindo … welcome aboard

"Tall ship" is a catch-all description for a large sailing vessel, one of those magnificent anachronisms that manages to cruise all over the world without using any oil. The largest of these vessels, with finely defined hulls, forests of masts and acres of canvas sails, are used by the navies of the world as cadet training vessels.

The Portuguese navy’s Sagres, now moored at Pier 8 by Aloha Tower Marketplace, is open for tours 10 a.m. to noon, 2 to 6 p.m. and 8 to 11 p.m. today and tomorrow. The ship sails away Monday morning, continuing on its yearlong, 36,000-mile around-the-world voyage.

Admission is free.

Sagres is one of a class of training ships built for the German navy during the 1930s. It was dubbed Albert Leo Schlageter, for a Nazi "martyr" who was executed for blowing up French trains. Seized by the United States in 1945 as a war prize, the ship was given to Brazil and renamed Guanabara. The Portuguese navy bought the vessel in 1961 and has been sailing it ever since as Sagres.

Sagres, with a crew of 200, is a sister ship to the German sailing vessel Gorch Fock, the United States’ Eagle and Romania’s Mircea.

Learn traditional dye making

Keiki and adults will learn how natural materials can be used as a source of colorful dyes for arts, crafts and cultural projects at a workshop next Saturday sponsored by the nonprofit Malama Learning Center.

Native Hawaiian artist Bernice Akamine will share her knowledge of how fruit and leaves from native and introduced plant species can be cooked up for use in dye making. By the end of this hands-on workshop, participants will know how to extract color from various types of plants.

The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to noon at Kapolei High School. The cost is $7 per person, $15 for family of two or three people. Registration is required; contact Janice Staab at janicestaab@gmail.com or 542-9107.

Dinos, songs and bubbles at libraries

The Kahuku Public & School Library concludes its summer reading program from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday with friendly dinosaurs Poni and LiL B of Ohana Costume Characters. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to bring cameras to take photos of their children with the dinosaurs.

Tinseling stylists will be available to add "sparkle" to children’s hair, snacks will be served and treat bags will be handed out to families in the program.

The summer fun continues at other public libraries, with performers scheduled to visit Wahiawa Public Library:

» Actor/musician/educator James McCarthy presents his popular "Say What I Do, Do What I Do" stories and songs for kids ages 3 and up at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

» Storyteller Nyla Fujii-Babb performs her collection of island stories and songs, "Blue Water, Blue Waves," at 10:30 a.m. July 14.

Both programs are free. The library is at 820 California Ave.; call 622-6345.

The Waimanalo Public and School Library hosts "The Amazing Magical Bubble Show" at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, offering "clean" fun with a variety of soapy wonders: single, square and even bubbles inside of bubbles.

The library is at 41-1320 Kalanianaole Highway; call 259-2610.

A poolside murder mystery

Mix a mystery, an outdoor venue and a heated swimming pool and you get tonight’s Moonlight Movie at the Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk.

The hotel will hold a free screening of "Sherlock Holmes" at 8 p.m. on its Grand Lanai, and movie fans can choose to watch from inside the pool, if they want. Bring your own inner tube, it’s OK.

"Sherlock Holmes" stars Robert Downey Jr. in the 2009 version about the famous British investigator and his sidekick, Dr. Watson, played by Jude Law.

Cocktails, pupu and nonalcoholic beverages will be available at the Pakini Bar. If you become a fan of Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk’s Facebook page, you can print out a coupon for free popcorn.

Valet parking, $6, is good for up to four hours with a purchase from the hotel or any other Waikiki Beach Walk merchant.

Help kids get a good start on the new school year

The Children’s Alliance of Hawaii is seeking donations for its Back to School Project, which provides sexually abused children and their siblings with essential school supplies.

The group is seeking donations of backpacks, pens, No. 2 and colored pencils, markers, scissors, notebooks, marble composition notebooks, folder paper, two-pocket folders, 4-ounce bottles of liquid glue or glue sticks, rulers, binders and erasers. Cash donations are also welcome.

Alliance volunteers assemble the backpacks and fill them with classroom items that allow the children to start the new school year with comfort and confidence.

Contact Cristine Reeves at 599-2955, ext. 202, to donate either supplies or money. Visit www.cahawaii.org.