For Kauai Online

Seated next to an exuberant Chicagoan en route to Kaua’i from Honolulu, I spend the 20-minute flight dictating a list of recommendations. It happens every time I fly. If I want quiet, I don’t tell visitors I’m from here. On a generous day, properly fueled with coffee, I’ll openly recite some “must sees.” As the [...]

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by Anne E. O’Malley Everybody has a camera, but how well do your photos turn out? Visitors and residents alike can benefit from jumping on a van with Kaua`i Photo Tours. Whether you’re shooting with an iPhone or $10,000 worth of equipment, the guides at Kaua`i Photo Tours help you get the photos you want, [...]

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  Holiday Hula by Anne E. O’Malley Dec. 16 Leilani Rivera Low Steps Up Seeing hula performed any time of year is inspiring. During the holidays, there’s an added festive dash, with holiday colors and motifs visible everywhere, Hawaiian and Christmas songs and hula and special guest performers who wow audiences. Always arrive early to [...]

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Slack Key — island style by Anne E. O’Malley Listening to Hawaiian music is one of the great benefits of being in the islands, and in particular, hearing the unique sound of slack key guitar. Ki ho`alu, the Hawaiian name for it, means, literally, “to loosen the tuning key.” Lucky it’s November, because you’re in [...]

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  Interview with Pamela Varma Brown by Anne E. O’Malley   It’s easy to fall in love with Kaua`i. Equally amazing are her people. One Kaua`i writer, Pamela Varma Brown, has written a compilation of stories that highlight the spirit of the people of this island, touching base with some surviving members of the 442nd [...]

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  by Anne E. O’Malley E*Trade founder Bill Porter and his wife Joan are akamai about their 500-acre Wai Koa Plantation, founded in 2006. They’ve thrown open the gates and designed it to be a working farm, fun and educational, with a tram tour that scoots through the nation’s largest mahogany plantation with three miles [...]

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  Residents and visitors find their time is well spent when they visit Aggie and Sal Marti-Kini and take a two-hour, authentic Hawaiian health experience tour at Hale Ola — it means House of Health — in Anahola. After a greeter blows the conch shell, or pu, guests receive a kukui lei welcome. The kukui [...]

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Article and photo by Anne E. O’Malley Delve into the uplands of Koke`e State Park on a guided Wonder Walk. With a skilled hike interpreter to point out native plants and bird sounds, you’ll learn cool legends and breathe in the fragrant mountain air. Some hikes stay tucked in deep forest pockets; others walk into [...]

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Article and photos by Anne E. O’Malley On weekends throughout the summer on Kaua`i, a 500-year-old Japanese tradition takes place that links families to their deceased relatives — and brings community members closer together. The cause for celebration is the traditional Japanese Bon Dance. Each weekend at a different temple, gaily-colored paper lanterns bob in [...]

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by Staff Splash and dazzle! One of the most exciting dance events in the Islands is the annual Kauai` Polynesian Festival, set for May 24-27. The popular festival is hosted by the Kamanawa Foundation, led by Kapu Kinimaka-Alquiza, the kumu hula of Halau Na Hula o Kaohikukapulani. “I believe Kaua`i is the birthplace of hula,” [...]

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