A quacking good time

Once again, from a storage unit somewhere in Kapolei, they will emerge into the sunlight — 20,000 rubber duckies, cleaned and ready to get back into the Ala Wai Canal for this year’s benefit for the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawaii.

Donna Fouts, executive director of UCPAH, has become an expert on the buoyant little critters. "Three years ago, we got a new ‘flock.’ What I learned …is that they all have to be of an equal size and weight. The ("Sesame Street") Bert-and-Ernie-type of duck doesn’t work because of the puka on the bottom."

The science of experience also determines the race’s starting time —1:16 p.m., when the current should be at its fastest.

The rubber duckies will traverse about 100 yards down the canal, where the top 50 finishers will win their adopted owners prizes. The adopter of the last finisher will win a "lame duck" prize, too.

The races have generally gone on without a hitch, with some memorable exceptions, Fouts said.

"One year, we had a starting time based on the outgoing tide, but on the day of the race, we had Kona winds, which ended up with the ducks going up the canal instead of down. Another year, we had a bunch of racing canoes go right through the ducks."— Gary Chun, Star-Advertiser

Ballet by the sea

Mermaids and dancing may seem mutually exclusive, but three charming little mermaids will prove this wrong as they star in "A Journey," an original two-act ballet written by Maria Jose Bel­tran and performed by Alive Ballet Center students.

Tori Bell, Victoria Hung and Mary Rose Mitchell dance the roles of three spoiled mermaids who are persuaded by a sinister shark to leave home in search for happiness.

At first the naive trio looks for excitement in other parts of the ocean. After intermission they leave the water and explore a land populated by various dancers, who are beautiful but unkind.

Eventually the mermaids’ journey brings them to Hawaii, where they are welcomed but come to realize that they belong at home with the mermaid ohana they left behind.

They learn that true happiness only comes from within and sharing with others — valuable life lessons for young mermaids and human children alike.

Children of all ages, and an adult or two, dance the roles of the various sea creatures the mermaids meet during their adventures — jellyfish, starfish, sea horses, and, of course, the shark — and the humans they encounter while ashore. — John Berger, Star-Advertiser