PUPPET SHOW PROMISES ‘FAIRY GOOD TIME’
Susie Roth’s mission is to entertain little ones and make them go home with a smile. To do this, she’ll dress up and then host Storytime with the Fairy Grandmother on Tuesday at the Manoa Public Library. The performance, which is geared for children ages 3 to 6, will feature the “Baby Shark” dance, magic tricks, a puppet performance, a children’s story or two and a dance from the 1960s like “The Twist.”
“People call me for a fairy good time,” quipped Roth, who’s been entertaining keiki for 40 years.
She said she likes to interact with the children while stressing the importance of education and reading.
Roth’s magic act will focus on making things appear and disappear. She will make feathers on a wand change from red to green, pull paper out of a child’s ear and turn a black scarf into rainbow colors.
After the show, her puppet, Randy the Dog, gets hugged by children.
“Parents tell me their kids talk about the show and say how much they loved it,” she said.
Roth performed as Giggles the Clown from 1978 to 1993, was Elfie the Elf with a magic show at the Honolulu Museum of Art during Christmases from 2007 to 2010 and has been the Fairy Grandmother since 2011.
Roth will be making her first appearance at Manoa. She performs regularly at the Kaneohe, Kailua, Aina Haina and Hawaii Kai libraries, she said, with about 25 to 40 kids attending the shows.
MAGIC & MORE
Storytime with the Fairy Grandmother
>> Where: Manoa Public Library, 2716 Woodlawn Drive
>> When: 10:30-11:15 a.m. Tuesday
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: 988-0459, librarieshawaii.org/events
GET STARRY-EYED AT BEACH PARTY
Long after the sunbathers leave Ala Moana Beach Park on Sunday, the Stargazing Party will begin.
The free event, which will run 7 to 10 p.m. at the park, will be led by University of Hawaii astronomer Roy Gal and an expert panel of astronomers. Between 5 to 10 telescopes will allow participants to view the celestial highlights of the Hawaiian winter sky.
“Most people will not have opportunities to look through a telescope in Hawaii. The locals can interact with astronomers and talk about topics, including Mauna Kea and general questions about astronomy,” said Rick Fienberg, press officer for the American Astronomical Society.
He added that Hawaii’s location close to the equator makes it an ideal place for stargazing, with the entire Northern Sky and most of the Southern Sky visible this time of year.
Fienberg said during the early part of Sunday’s event, Venus will have the appearance of a gibbous moon, between a half-moon and a full moon. Later on, Uranus will appear as a blue/green disk, while the Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebula will be visible.
The event is part of the American Astronomical Society’s Winter Meeting, which begins Saturday and ends Thursday. More than 3,000 astronomers, students, educators and journalists are scheduled to attend the meeting, which is headquartered at the Hawaii Convention Center.
STARGAZING PARTY
>> Where: Ala Moana Beach Park, near the bridge and maintenance station
>> When: 7-10 p.m. Sunday
>> Cost: Free
>> Info: 808ne.ws/starparty (see map for the exact location)
‘KAI’ REVEALS ABUNDANCE OF LOCAL PRODUCE
Catherine Toth Fox’s children’s book “Kai Goes to the Farmers Market” is the intersection of things that have meaning in her life.
She has a young son, is a proponent of healthy eating and supports local agriculture.
The 32-page hardcover book opens with little Kai waking up hungry and finding no food in the house. Against the toddler’s will, his mother takes him to a local farmers market to buy some food. There, Kai is pleasantly surprised to see all the locally grown fruits and vegetables such as mangoes, guava, taro, papaya, beets and bananas. Then he and his mother go home and enjoy a nice meal together.
Toth Fox said she wanted the main character to have a local name, so she chose Kai, the name of her husband.
“I have a 3-year-old son (Landon). A lot of moms read to their kids every day, so I would think most would want to write a children’s book that you can read to them,” she said about her motivation to write her first children’s book, which was released Oct. 1.
Toth Fox said illustrator Mariko Merritt, who is also her surfing buddy, did a great job of making the fruits and vegetables look “fun and enticing.”
“Kids should eat healthy. Exposing kids to fruits and vegetables grown locally is great,” she added.
Local farmers markets are growing in popularity, said the author.
“I’m a big fan of local farms,” said Toth Fox, who spent about 10 years in the newspaper industry. “My husband worked in the agriculture industry here.”
“KAI GOES TO THE FARMERS MARKET”
By Catherine Toth Fox; illustrated by Mariko Merritt (BeachHouse Publishing, $12.95)
