Hawaiian resident and author Hal Glatzer has a new band, le Quintette du Hot Club de Hilo. Here’s a video of the band in action:
The next scheduled gig for le Quintette du Hot Club de Hilo is Friday August 22, at the East Hawaii Cultural Center, in downtown Hilo.
For the past 18 years, there has been a tradition at Left Coast Crime Conventions to designate charities as recipients of a donation. The monies for this donation are usually from the “silent auction”. The charities selected have been associated with various non-profit literacy organizations. For LCC 2009, we have selected the Kailua Learning Center an organization on the Big Island dedicated to the improvement of literacy in the English language.
The Kona Literacy Council trains volunteer tutors to provide free, one-to-one, small group, and computer assisted literacy services at the Kailua Learning Center to any adult who wants to improve their basic reading, writing, computational skills and computer literacy. Special programs designed to meet the specific needs of the learners are offered, such as: English as a Second Language, preparation for passing the GED or Competency Based High School Diploma, Citizen preparation, keyboarding and computer literacy. All tutoring is at no cost to the student. Brenda Natina is the Kailua Learning Center Program Director and Secretary. She will be our contact with the Kailua Learning Center and has already been very helpful with our efforts for LCC 2009.
Gohawaii.com, Hawaii’s official tourism web site, has a feature called Heroes of Hawaii which tells visitors where they can find statues on important figures from the state’s past. There are two statues of King Kamehameha on the Big Island, and one on Oahu. King Kamehameha united the Hawaiian Islands into one royal kingdom in 1810 and is remembered as a great warrior, diplomat, and leader. The tallest of the statues, at 14 feet, is located in front of the Hilo Public Library. Hilo is also home to the Naha Stone, which a young Kamehameha was said to have overturned in a feet of incredible strength. Legend had it that whoever had the strength to move the Naha Stone would rule the Hawaiian Islands. Every July 11th, on Kamehameha Day, each of the statues are ceremoniously draped with flower lei to celebrate Hawaii’s greatest king.