so you think you can dance

sorry to disappoint but this is not a dance off challenge from me to you. consider this a little reader alert that hawaii will be well represented on this season's so you think you can dance, aka my guilty pleasure show of summertime. much to my delight, my cousins & i will spend another summer sending dance critiques and
contestant picks back and forth across the pacific until the winner is crowned and, happily, we now have a local contender to cheer on!

[a vicarious sytycd-related thrill came compliments of one cousin who had a close encounter with contemporary choreographer mia michaels while visiting las vegas last year. the sighting at mandalay bay excited her so much that, as the story goes, my cousin shrieked "MIA MICHAELS!!!" loudly enough to startle la michaels who promptly gave her a quick wave to acknowledge this exuberant expression of fan girl love before dashing off to safety. fortunately, that one simple act satisfied my cousin enough to extinguish her devious plan to infiltrate the auditions, take the stage, and "dance" for the world.]

anyhoo, the hawaii voting block will certainly be out in full force dialing & texting away to support oahu boy mark kanemura who was already a favorite (before his sister revealed the hawaii connection on social wahines) after pulling off a hilarious interpretation of queen's "bohemian rhapsody" during his audition.

the top 20 start dancing their little hearts out tonight so tune in and go mark!

easy green living

hopefully, after a week of eco goodness you have become inspired to make every day earth day. the concept of going green can seem overwhelming if you are a newbie so now seems to be the perfect time to introduce you to renee loux, a maui-based organic chef who has started a little eco empire of her own.

you may have seen renee on her fine living series it's easy being green and her new book easy green living is your go to reference for all the questions that will pop up along your journey to a greener lifestyle. get the skinny on everything from gmo to herbal alternatives and the reasons why green products are better for you and the environment.

other sources to check out include fast food nation (one read will ween you off the value menu forever) and the very inspiring big ideas for a small planet on the sundance channel (no cable? no worries, you can download on itunes or order the season 1 dvd).

maui film festival 2008

one way to go behind-the-scenes during this summer's maui film festival is to sign-up as a volunteer. each 4-hour shift will score you two $10 festival passes plus one wednesday night movie pass good for a screening at the maui arts & cultural center.

you must be at least 16 years old to volunteer and need to register online to view the open volunteer slots. there are also a few paid positions for those who want to have a go as a filmmaker liason, p.a., or work the box office. email the festival coordinator for more details.

by the way, festival passes just went on sale and, while this year's slate has yet to be finalized, star gazing be it of the celestial or celebrity kind is definitely on the schedule (past attendees have included everyone from his holiness the dalai lama to jake gyllenhaal).

• festival dates: wed, jun 11th to sun, jun 15th

kokua festival ticket auction

if you missed your chance at tickets for next month's kokua festival, you have two opportunities to score a seat at the sold out show(s). the kokua hawaii foundation and dave matthews have both put concert tickets on the auction block (the former via ticketmaster and the latter via dm's official charity auction website) with all the proceeds from the winning bids to be donated to the kokua hawaii foundation.

the khf auction has 25 packages (a pair of tix plus an autographed copy of jack johnson's sleep through the static and assorted festival merchandise) listed for both the sat & sun shows. four pairs of tickets in the orchestra pit are available over at the dmb website.

be sure to read all the fine print before bidding!

• dave matthews auction (ends fri, mar 14th)
• kokua hawaii auction (ends fri, mar 21st)

kokua festival 2008

just a quick note to let you know that the official ticket on sale for the kokua festival is tomorrow morning. joining jack johnson will be dave matthews and bandmate tim reynolds along with mason jennings and paula fuga! ticket buyers will also have the opportunity to donate $2 to offset their carbon output for the ride to the shell.

local designers setting up shop in the kokua village include keolopiko, lily lotus, marqet and mu'umu'u heaven. and, do stop by the re-use hawaii booth to learn more about the good work they are doing in the islands!

{fyi - clicking your preferred date will take you directly to ticketmaster's website to buy tix}

• on sale: sat, feb 16th - 9a hst
• when: sat, apr 20th & sun, apr 21st
• where: waikiki shell
• tix: $40 ga/$50 reserved/$125 pit

p.s. if you haven't already, pick up a copy of jack johnson's latest cd sleep through the static.