Ka`u News Briefs June 7, 2011

Obon offerings of fruit and flowers to honor ancestors at Pahala Hongwanji this morning.  Photo by Julia Neal

OBON CEREMONIES are being held in Ka`u this morning, with services at the old Japanese graveyard and small temple up Wood Valley Road, followed by services at Pahala Hongwanji and graveyard, a luncheon for the Honpa Hongwanji community and visits to other graveyards in the district. The Rev. Earl Ikeda is leading the Obon services around Ka`u. Rev. Ikeda will be moving to a new position in Honolulu later this summer.

     The Bon Dance season kicks off this Saturday at Honomu Hongwanji and continues throughout July and into August. The nearest bon dance will be at Puna Hongwanji along Hwy 11 in Kea`au on July 1 and 2.

Bull Kailiawa

KA`U COFFEE is making a big splash on the Internet this morning, drawing high prices for an international charity auction for Grounds for Health, which provides health care to poor coffee farmers in underserved growing regions. The coffee was donated for the auction by the coffee farmers and the Coffees of the Year competition in Houston, where Bull and Jamie Kailiawa’s Ka`u Coffee took first place in the U.S. and Hawai`i and ranked in the top ten in the world. This morning Kailiawa Coffee was leading among the Hawaiian coffees at $23.10 a pound for unroasted green beans.
     Most of the Ka‘ū coffees were doing well, with the majority of other coffees from around the world drawing prices of under $10 a pound. The auction is taking place in Vermont at Stoneworks Specialty Coffee Auctions through 10 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday and can be seen live on the Internet today and tomorrow at http://auction.groundsforhealth.org. The entire auction is being held on the Internet, where you can watch prices for Ka‘ū Coffee soar.

     

PLANNING AND PREPARATION for natural disasters will be the topic at a half-day workshop in Hilo later this month. Experts at the workshop will cover emergency guidelines, evacuation planning, tsunami and severe weather warnings, homeowner guidance and retrofit measures, and flood and coastal inundation mapping. The workshop takes place at UH-Hilo’s UCB Lecture Hall on Saturday, June 25 from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Another workshop is scheduled in Kona on July 16. The workshops are free and open to the public.

Ray Brown, Jr.

RAY BROWN, JR. BEGINS Volcano Art Center’s Summer Jazz season this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at VAC’s Niaulani campus in Volcano Village. Brown is the son of Ella Fitzgerald and jazz bass player Ray Brown. His vocals range from jazz and pop to rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues. Tickets are $15 in advance and $17 at the door. Call 967-8222 or visit volcanoartcenter.org to purchase tickets.

LA`AU LAPA`AU IS THE TOPIC at the Kilauea Visitor Center lanai tomorrow from 10 a.m. to noon. Ka`ohu Monfort teaches how plants including kukui, `olena, ha`uowi, noi, ki and guava are used to nourish and heal.

TWO DISTRICT 6 MATTERS MEETINGS take place in Ka`u this week. Tomorrow at 7 p.m., Laura Dierenfield, executive director of People’s Advocacy for Trails Hawai‘i, discusses the PATH program at Ocean View Community Center.
     At Na`alehu Community Center on Thursday at 7 p.m., Council member Brittany Smart discusses her proposed resolution that would delay Council action on any rezoning or general plan amendments in Ka`u until a CDP is completed and in place or December 31, 2012, whichever comes first. For more information, call 961-8536.

THE KA`U FAMILY FUN FEST happens this Saturday. `O Ka`u Kakou is sponsoring this fundraiser for Bay Clinic’s building fund. A half marathon, 10K and 5K races begin at Na`alehu Park. Other events at the park are a hunters’ obstacle course and tournaments in archery, Jan Ken Po, Portuguese horseshoes and basketball. Registration and fee schedules for the races and tournaments are available online at race360.com/15811.
     Throughout the day at the park there will be information and food booths; a live auction; a jumping castle; bungee jumping; rock wall climbing and a dunking booth. Entertainers include the Hawai`i County Band, Keoki Kahumoku, Dennis and David Kamakahi, the Lava Boys and One Journey. For more information, call 265-8251 or email kaufamilyfunfest@gmail.com.