Our Picks for the Weekend
Star-Bulletin staff
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MUSIC
Performance re-creates Bach music on computer
It's a blend of the old and the new, as Bach "meets" the computer.
Described as a "virtual experience," Iolani School teacher Katherine Crosier and two of her students will perform and demonstrate the composer's famous organ works by utilizing computer technology. Using only a simple MIDI keyboard, computer and virtual software, the system looks, sounds and feels like a real pipe organ.
Crosier, 16-year-old Joey Fala and 9-year-old Christopher Lindsay will also perform works by Mouret and 20th-century composer Wilbur Held while using the Hauptwerk virtual pipe organ software.
Admission is free for the 5:30 p.m. concert Saturday at the school's Seto Hall.
FREE ADMISSION
Isle author Hara to hold signing session at JCCH
The kudos continue to come in for longtime local author Mavis Hara's latest collection of stories, "An Offering of Rice." Longtime residents should really read this, as it's filled with Hara's solidly written poems and tales -- partly truth and partly fiction -- based mostly on her and her mother's lives.
She draws on her sansei roots, as well as on being a breast cancer survivor, adoptive mother and military wife. What better way to get into Hara's book than to buy a copy of it at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, and have Hara herself sign it for you?
The author will be in the fifth-floor lounge from 2 to 4 p.m. While admission is free, the book costs $15, $12 for JCCH members. Call 945-7633.
LAST CHANCE
Teams to go chasing around Chinatown
Don't be concerned if you see several people hurrying through Chinatown on Saturday afternoon.
It will just be teams racing in the Chinatown Chase, a popular fundraiser for downtown's Hawaii Theatre. Teams of 10 will start at the theater at 5:30 p.m. for "check-in, warm up and hydration." After getting instruction and clues and challenges, the race is on at 6:30, as teams visit nearby galleries, bars, landmarks and restaurants to crack codes and take on wild feats.
At the finish line, awards will be given for team speed and best costumes. Further libation and celebratory dancing will occur later in the evening at the VIP Red Light Lounge and Bar 35. To register for the event, go to chinatownchase.com.
FAMILY
Take in cherry blossoms and Japanese culture
During the Cherry Blossom Festival, held in Wahiawa, the trees that are planted there actually bloom during the winter. A couple of events celebrate this seasonal event, with the first, the Sakura Matsuri, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Wahiawa Hongwanji Mission.
There, you'll meet the Cherry Blossom court and enjoy Japanese culture through music, dance and taiko drums. Cost is $5. Call 487-9630.
On Feb. 2, it's the Sakura Safari -- Hana Mi at Wahiawa Ryusenji Soto Mission. Folks taking trolley rides at 9 and 11 a.m. through Wahiawa will get a chance to see the blooming trees, among other stops. At 12:45 p.m., there will be a special Japanese show and bon dance. It'll cost $12 for the trolley rides; call 306-1876.
FOOD
The Fat Greek
3040 Waialae Ave. / 734-0404
After noting in my Sunday review that owners of The Fat Greek had plans to open nine restaurants in five years, I suggested they look to the Liliha/Nuuanu area where I live.
That's a long shot, of course. One diner countered by e-mail that he hoped they would move into Kapolei next, and he'll probably get his wish. It's usually the Second City or well-to-do Kailua that restaurateurs look to when making expansion plans.
At any rate, one shop is not enough for a restaurant that aims to bring health-oriented Mediterranean cuisine to the public at an affordable price. And the Greek, well, don't expect it to be 100 percent pure, but it does give the one-track minded a simple definitive label.
Foodies have harrumphed that they can make better hummus and moussaka, but for the majority who avoid kitchens, The Fat Greek offers fluffy baba ganoush ($5) topped with olive oil and a sprinkling of dried oregano, and souvlaki ($10) with fresh fillings of a choice of chicken, cubed lamb or fish marinated with lemon, olive oil, garlic, pepper and oregano, instead of the usual processed gyro meat, albeit in portions smaller than most here are accustomed.
The setting is humble and casual, with seating indoor and out, and the menu -- so far -- tops out with a sometime special of herbed, rosemary-accented lamb chops. It's a splurge at $19.95, but it's also more juicy and tender than that of other restaurants charging $30 or more for the same thing. More specials are on the way, including a vegetarian moussaka, and there are drive-through plans in the works for quick pau hana pickup.
Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with meals running about $20 to $40 for two; BYOB. Note: Limited $2 parking available at City Mill. Be careful crossing this dangerous intersection at Waialae Avenue and St. Louis Drive.
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