[ISLAND HOPPING]
Luau on Big Isle
Dolphin Days is around the corner, and it's not only for friends of Flipper. Foodies will also turn out for the Aloha Friday Luau from 6 to 9 p.m. June 28 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village's Hana Hou Bar.Executive chef Wilhelm Pimgruber will be setting up cold and hot food stations, stocked with traditional luau fare such as Big Island poi, kalua pork and cabbage, lomilomi salmon and poke, plus items that reflect Hawaii's diversity. There will be Korean chicken sushi rolls, black-bean chicken, Chinese chicken salad, imu-kim chee fried rice, creamed coconut spinach, and more.
As if this isn't enough, there will be a dessert station featuring lilikoi cheesecake, fruit tartlets, mango milk chocolate mousse, Kona coffee chocolate decadence cake, haupia creme brulée and other sweets.
Following the feast, guests will be entertained by fire-knife dancers and other performers in a program staged by Tihati Entertainment, and later will hear the music of Harold "H. Dawg" Kama Jr. and Friends.
Tickets for the luau are $68 for adults and $25 for kids ages 5 to 12.
Other Dolphin Days events are:
>> June 27: "Retro Drinks & Future Foods" dinner from 7 to 10 p.m. features cutting-edge cuisine and entertainment by Halau Hula Ka No'eau. Tickets are $75 per person.
>> June 28: Dolphin program at the Dolphin Lagoon, 5 p.m. This 40-minute program features Waikoloa dolphins who dance, sing and play with Dolphin Quest trainers. Free.
>> June 29: "Great Waikoloa Food, Wine & Music Festival," 6 to 10 p.m. Premiere attraction features dozens of Hawaii's top chefs, more than 25 wine and beer purveyors and jazz, ending with fireworks. The cost is $80 for adults if tickets are purchased by June 24, or $95 at the door. Tickets for children ages 5 to 12 are $30.
For more information, call the Hilton Waikoloa at 808-886-1234 or visit www.DolphinDays.com.
Free the turtles
While Americans celebrate independence on the Fourth of July, the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Isle will be celebrating "Turtle Independence Day."Since 1989, the resort has been helping to protect and restore the Hawaiian green turtle population, receiving juvenile honu that hatch at Oahu's Sea Life Park, and caring for them in the resort's saltwater ponds. The turtles are released into the wild when they grow to a size that the park has deemed suitable for their survival in the open ocean. They also go through a veterinary check to ensure they are in good health. The release takes place at the ocean edge fronting Mauna Lani Bay every July 4.
This year, the celebration will begin at 8:30 a.m., with live entertainment, face-painting, balloon animals and canoe rides for keiki. Then, at 9:30 a.m., the turtles will be taken to the ocean, where there will be a chant, followed by their release.
Since the program's start, Mauna Lani has nurtured more than 100 honu. While the honu are in residence, they are part of an educational loan program, allowing children who visit the resort to view them in their habitat.
For more information, call the hotel at 808-885-6622.