Wood Craft Ben Wood

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Hawaii National Guard Sgt. Marshall is hula queen

Sharde Iowne Marshall is a standout hula dancer who will be featured with Halau Ka Lehua Tuahine in tomorrow's free Na Mele No Na Pua concert on the Grand Lanai of Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk. But Iowne is much more than a hula queen. She is a supply sergeant in the Hawaii National Guard and will be deploying to Kuwait before long. She has been in the Guard five years and has served in Iraq. Tomorrow's show, starring Palani Vaughan, starts at 4 p.m. Iowne will perform a solo hula to "He Pua Wehiwa" as Palani sings. Palani's daughter, Hiwa Vaughan, is kumu hula for Halau Ka Lehua Tuahine ...

Hawaiiana scholar and expert Jean Clare "Kini" Sullivan, who loved hula and wrote liner notes for Hula Records, died Monday. She was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated from Drake University in Des Moines in 1947. She visited Hawaii in 1959 and stayed. Kini always wanted to be dancer, so she first learned hula under Lokalia Montgomery, who gave her the name Kini. She later studied hula under Maiki Aiu Lake. Kini was a freelance writer and worked as a personal assistant to Hula Records' Don McDiarmid Jr. Services are scheduled for July 12 at St. Augustine Church in Waikiki. Visitation begins at 9 a.m., followed by the services at 10:30 a.m. ...

JAKE AND JILL SHARE OPERA EXPERTISE

While Jake and Jill Gardner are here preparing for Hawaii Opera Theatre's "A Little Night Music," playing Aug. 1, 3, 9 and 10 at Blaisdell Concert Hall, they have also spent time teaching vocal and stage technique to Hawaii's up-and-coming opera singers at HOT's Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio. Jake has performed with opera legends Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. Jill has worked with opera companies nationwide ...

Besides celebrity mixologist Francesco Lafranconi making his Halekulani debut in Lewers Lounge on the evening of Friday, July 4, the popular House Without a Key is holding a sunset barbecue with Independence Day favorites on the grill ...

Congratulations to the Kahala Hotel's Marion Sato, the Kahala Club manager, who marks 34 years with the hotel next month ...