Our Picks for the Weekend Star-Bulletin staff

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CONCERTS

Military bands unite for free performance

In observance of Hawaii Military Appreciation Month, a concert combining the bands of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Hawaii Army National Guard will be presented Friday night at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

It will be a specially produced concert featuring a variety of music ranging from popular military marches to traditional American favorites.

The Combined Military Band Concert is free and open to the public. Tickets and seating are on a first-come, first-serve basis, and are available at the Blaisdell Center box office and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii downtown at 1132 Bishop St., Suite 402. Go online at www.cochawaii.org.

FAMILY

Ocean Awareness fest offers rides, swim clinic

Every year, the parent group of the Punana Leo o Kawaiaha'o preschool and Chevron put on the E Malama I Ke Kai Ocean Awareness festival in Waikiki.

This year's fest, to be held Saturday, promises to be the most expansive ever, with activities ranging from Hawaiian cultural presentations, keiki rides and games, and a swim-and-surf clinic taught by professional surfers and lifeguards. Longboard surfer and preschool parent Duane DeSoto has rounded up 30 pro water people to run the clinic from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at nearby Kaimana Beach. Natural Vibrations headlines the entertainment.

Proceeds will benefit the Hawaiian-language immersion preschool, located on the grounds of Kawaiaha'o Church.

Admission is free; the fest runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kapiolani Park Bandstand.

SWAP MEET

Student booths raising funds for sports camps

If you happen to be going to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet this weekend, check out the fundraising booths for the Hawaii Youth Soccer Association's Olympic Development Program. Student athletes will be manning these booths, selling vintage soccer T-shirts, collectibles and household items, all to raise funds to attend the program's Region IV soccer camps held here and in California and Oregon in June and July.

This year, more than 200 middle and high school student soccer players have been selected to attend the camps that provide high-level training from experienced coaches, while identifying players of the highest caliber for the U.S. National Teams.

The swap meet runs from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with admission $1 per person; children under 11 free. Call 486-6704.

CONCERTS

Celtic-music artists stir things up on Valley Isle

Maui will be dancing up a storm, Celtic-wise, starting next Thursday, as guitarist Tim Readman and fiddler Shona Le Mottée will perform four concerts there.

Readman's wit and infectious sense of humor promises to engage audiences as he tells stories alongside playing his music. Le Mottée was a featured performer in Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" stage show, and the two also play in the Fear of Drinking band, where Readman is the leader.

It all starts May 22 at the Lahaina United Methodist Church and continues May 23 for a dinner show at Mulligan's on the Blue in Wailea, May 24 at the Studio Maui in the Haiku Marketplace and May 25 at the Haleakala Waldorf School's Christopher Hall in Kula.

For specifics on ticket prices, call (808) 264-5190 or go online to www.mauiceltic.com.

FOOD

Cha No Ma

King's Village, 131 Kaiulani Ave. / 393-8238

Even if you live here, Waikiki's labyrinth of side streets offer fascinating detours. With a mix of small businesses that come and go, you're always in for a surprise. I hadn't been to King's Village for a while, so decided to take a quick peek. As usual, the businesses trying to pass off made-in-Asia wares as Hawaiian souvenirs dominated, but if you make it all the way to the top floor, you'll find an oasis in Cha No Ma.

Locally, we're better acquainted with the English tea or the Japanese tea ceremony. At Cha No Ma, owner Tony Yang introduces the Taiwan tea ceremony, with a choice of 40 premium Taiwan and Japan teas.

A pot of tea runs from about $8 to $32, to be shared by two to four people. Select your tea, of which three tablespoons are placed in a small pot, to which hot water is added. After a minute, the tea is poured into a second pot, ready to be poured into the narrower of two cups placed in front of you. This is known as the "aroma" cup. The tea is then transferred from this cup to a rounder drinking cup. Before taking the first sip, you're invited to drink in the scent of the tea from the aroma cup. The scent changes with each sip, as you're able to pick up the various nuances of the tea.

Tea selections range from High Mountain Oolong with a sweet floral scent, to refreshing Wensan Pouchong, one of four leading green teas from Taiwan.

Enjoy the tea with a few simple dim sum selections, sweets such as fruit or shave ice with red beans dusted with green tea powder.