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Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Kahilu Theater 2014-2015 season



            The Kahilu Theater in Waimea kicks off its season on Saturday September 20, with a concert by John Cruz. If you haven't heard him, he is a legend of Hawaiian music.

            In October there are two dance performances followed by the Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra's Tribute to Hawaii. In such a small town such as Waimea, it is truly amazing that a truly fine symphony orchestra exists for our pleasure.

            November highlights the annual Ukulele Festival, a truly fantastic two-day affair featuring some of the best ukulele and slack key artists in the State. This is followed in December by an evening with Jake Shimabukuro, perhaps the foremost ukulele artist in the State. His performance is followed by a virtuoso violinist and the annual Waimea Community Chorus Christmas concert. The chorus is a fantastic gathering of local singers doing an excellent concert.

            2015 brings Makana to the stage. His performance is a highlight as he is an up and coming power in Hawaiian music. February seems to be jazz month featuring the Harlem Quarter and the Honokaa Jazz Band. The Honokaa group of school kids go an amazing job.

            March brings the Kamuela Philharmonic back to the stage, followed in April by a piano concert by Sean Chen. May highlights Hawaiian music with performances by The Brothers Cazimero followed by KealiÕ™i Reichel. Both are extremely talented artists.

            The season concludes in June with the Spring concert of the Waimea Community Chorus.

            Information on all performances and tickets are available at: http://kahilutheatre.org/Home.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

A weather observatory on Mauna Loa



            If you head North on Route 190 and on to Daniel K. Inouye Highway. As soon as you pass the Mauna Kea access road there will be a narrow road on the right. This is the Mauna Loa Observatory access road. It was built to access the Mauna Loa Observatory which is a baseline station for the Global Monitoring Division of the Earth System Research Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which is at 11,141 feet. It is an almost 18 mile drive to get to the Observatory. Drop in visitors are not welcome at the Observatory, but you can make prior arrangements for a visit through their website at: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/obop/mlo/index.html. This Observatory made the original atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements which alerted scientists to climate change. They have been monitoring carbon dioxide since 1958 and have the longest continuous record of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the world. In addition they also monitor other aspects of atmospheric chemistry as well as solar and infrared radiation.
            The road to the Observatory is paved all the way, so if you are only going to that point a 4-wheel drive is not necessary. However, there are a couple of interesting side trips on unpaved roads which do require 4-wheel drive vehicles if you wish to explore them. To find out what to explore download my Kindle book at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GYJRJ6Y. This road is really a one lane road, so you need to be very careful driving it. There are occasional areas to pull off to let oncoming traffic pass, as well as bikers coming down the mountain. It is wise to put your lights on to alert oncoming traffic that you are on the road. As with Mauna Kea make sure you have drinks and food with you, as well as a full tank of gas, as there are no facilities on the mountain. The lower portion of the road has been repaved recently, so the ride will be smoother than it used to be. There are several blind curves on the road so be careful.
            Follow  the road up the mountain and you will eventually come to a parking area on the left side of the road at the bottom of the driveway to the Mauna Loa Observatory. If you have previously made arrangements, you can have access to the laboratory. This parking area is also the trail head for a hike up to the summit of Mauna Loa. The road that continues straight ahead leads to the hiking trail. It is a long, strenuous hike at this elevation and not one to embark on whimsically. There are hiking books which describe it, and you should make careful plans should you decide to make that hike. We have always found the parking lot at the Observatory a great place to have lunch, with a spectacular view.