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Festivities mark whales' return
The Great Maui Whale Festival celebrates whale-watching season with events beginning Saturday and running through the month.
Activities, sponsored by the nonprofit Pacific Whale Foundation, include the opportunity to help count the whales that can be viewed from Maui.
For more on any of these events, visit www.pacificwhale.org or call toll-free (800) WHALE-1-1. On Maui call 249-8811.
Run for the Whales: Half-marathon, 5K fun run, 2K walk and children's run take place Saturday along the coast from Makena to Wailea. All races start at the Polo Beach parking lot next to the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea. Check-in is at 6 a.m. for the half-marathon, 7 a.m. for other races.
Entry fees are $20 to $35, in advance; prices rise by $5 on race day. Proceeds benefit marine education programs for Maui schoolchildren.
Maui's Whale Day Celebration: Events run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 16 at Kalama Park in Kihei; a parade starts the day at 9 a.m. on South Kihei Road. John Cruz, Barefoot Natives, George Kahumoku Jr., Henry Kapono, Jasmine Trias, Vince Esquire, Marty Dread and Augie T will perform. Also: a craft fair, food booths, children's carnival, silent auction and displays about whales. A rubber-whale race offers the prize of a mainland trip.
The Keiki Whale-a-thon, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the festival, offers interactive stations for kids to learn about whales. The first 150 participants in kindergarten to grade 6 will receive free passes to Maui Ocean Center.
A Year with the Whales: Greg Kaufman, Pacific Whale Foundation president, presents a free talk and slide show covering the last year of whale research, including up-close images of whales, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21, Pacific Whale Foundation Discovery Center at the Harbor Shops at Ma'alaea. Kaufman will also sign his books, "Hawaii's Humpback Whales" and "125 Fun Facts about Humpback Whales."
The Great Whale Count: Join whale researchers and volunteers from across the country to observe humpbacks from shore, 8 a.m. to noon Feb. 23. Call volunteer coordinator Kelly Vough, 856-8320, or e-mail kelly@pacificwhale.org.
VIP Whalewatch: Kaufman leads a two-hour whale watch from Maalaea Harbor, 12:30 p.m. Feb. 24 aboard the catamaran Ocean Odyssey. Cost is $49.95, $34.95 children, kids under age 6 free. Reservations required. Call 249-8811, ext. 1.
Radford taking recyclables
Bring recyclables to Radford High School on Saturday for the Aloha 'Aina Community Clean-Up Project, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the school parking lot, 4361 Salt Lake Blvd.
Items accepted: scrap metal, auto parts, bicycles, metal appliances, lawn mowers, pipes, beams, newspaper, cardboard, HI-5 beverage containers, old passenger tires (one load per household), green waste, car and boat batteries, cellular phones, printer cartridges, computers (one per car), cooking oil and telephone books.
Various recycling business will collect the items, with proceeds going to the school.
Document shredding will be available from 8 to 11 a.m. Reuseable household items and clothing may be dropped off for Goodwill Industries.
Call 421-4200, ext. 332, or 306-1876 to arrange for curbside pickup or to volunteer time or a pickup truck.