New tunes, lessons accompany ‘Courage’
Ancient Hawaiian musical instruments — kaekeeke (bamboo tubes), ohe hano ihu (nose flute), iliili (pebbles), puili (split-bamboo rattles) and several others — will play an important part in Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s upcoming production of a Polynesian-themed children’s story, "Call It Courage."
Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning recording artist Kala‘i Stern has written original chants and melodies for HTY’s adaptation of the story, a Newbery Medal-winning book by Armstrong Sperry when it was published in 1940.
Stern is joined by three other performers — Alvin Chan, Maile Holck and Junior Tesoro — in telling the story of a young Polynesian boy named Mafatu, considered a coward by his village, who embarks on a desperate open-ocean journey. Mafatu is caught in a storm, loses his canoe and is marooned on a seemingly deserted island with an albatross and a dog.
Mafatu’s path to courage and self-confidence involves building a new canoe, learning how to hunt and fish, battling with cannibals, killing a pig and saving the dog from a hungry shark.
Mafatu’s success in confronting things that frighten him is relatable subject matter for many children.
“Call It Courage”
>> Where: Tenney Theatre, Cathedral of St. Andrew
>> When: Opens 7:30 p.m. Friday; continues 4:30 p.m. Feb. 16 and 23 and March 2 and 9
>> Cost: $20, $15 seniors (ages 60 and older) and $10 (ages 18 and younger)
>> Info: 839-9885 or www.htyweb.org
— John Berger
Return to plantation era in time for Lunar New Year
Help keiki experience what life was like for their ancestors at the Relive the Plantation Days Festival today.
"For plantation cultures the new year was important," said Jeff Higa, executive director of Hawaii’s Plantation Village, which has exhibits detailing the life of the earliest Chinese settlers through the worker immigration of the Japanese, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Spanish and Filipino.
The festival includes free tours of the village, food samples of multiethnic dishes from the plantation era, and assorted food and drink on sale, including homemade gao and jai to celebrate the Lunar New Year. There will also be games from the plantation era, as well as New Year’s-themed games.
Higa said the traditional Chinese lion dance by the Kung Siu Lum Pai group is always popular, and this year there will also be an Okinawan lion dog performance.
Entertainment will include hula from Iroquois Point Elementary School’s Na Pua o Hawai‘i, the August Ahrens Elementary Music Ensemble, the Tekniqlingz dance crew, traditional Puerto Rican dance by Kathy Montalbo and traditional Portuguese fado singing by Josephine Carreira.
Relive the Plantation Days Festival
>> Where: Hawaii’s Plantation Village, 94-695 Waipahu St.
>> When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: 677-0110 or hawaiiplantationvillage.org
Chase a bunch of bananas for prizes
Wanna chase a banana?
If the thought of running down a 6-foot banana man is appealing to you, registration is under way for the 12th Annual Jamba Banana Man Chase, happening at 7 a.m. May 4 at Ala Moana Beach Park’s Magic Island.
Male and female runners of various age groups will pursue a group of speedy "bananas" around the 5K course.
Top finishers in each age group can win a year’s supply of 16-ounce smoothies from Jamba Juice.
Kids age 13 and under may take part in a 500-meter keiki fun run (covering a little more than a quarter-mile) at 7:45 a.m. May 4. To warm them up beforehand, there will be a special Keiki Zone where kids can run through an obstacle course or participate in ladder drills and other activities.
After the races, families can stick around to play in the bounce house, get a balloon animal or receive a free massage. All race participants will receive a free Jamba smoothie and T-shirt.
The event is a fundraiser for Hawaii Speed and Quickness, an athletic skills youth training program that includes weekend speed and agility camps, sports camps and school programs.
Early registration for the 5K is $20 until Friday; after Friday the price goes up to $25. The Keiki 500 Meter Dash is $15. Online sign-up is available at jambahawaii.com.
‘Ruby’ uses young heroes to share virtues with kids
"The Curse of the Ruby Ring" (Ekadanta International Group, $16.99) is the first book of a six-part "Sentinels of Peace" series with proceeds going to the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii. Each book will focus on one of six virtues: peace, strength, honesty, compassion, honor and forgiveness.
The book, geared toward readers age 6 to 11, introduces four young heroes with special powers who are summoned by the Sentinels of Peace, the protectors of peace for 3,000 years. The team travels to Japan, meets the empress and is given the task of retrieving the powerful ruby ring that has been stolen and stored in a haunted forest.
The heroes encounter monstrous birds, snarling wolves, dark caves, a battalion of samurai and a powerful sorcerer on their adventure.
