ENTER TO WIN!

Put your presidential face forward and win

Do you look like Sarah Palin or any of the other presidential/ vice presidential candidates? Send us your photo, for an article to run on Election Day Tuesday.

Because of the quick turnaround, submissions will be accepted by e-mail only until noon Friday—send JPEG images to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). You can nominate a look-alike friend (just get permission first). Include your name and telephone number.

The person with the closest likeness to Palin, Barack Obama, John McCain or Joe Biden wins gift certificates for dinner and a movie.

Contest invites disabled musicians

The VSA Arts International Young Soloists Award recognizes outstanding young musicians with disabilities, with a top prize of $5,000 and a chance to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The competition is open to instrumental musicians and vocalists with disabilities, aged 25 or under, in any genre, from jazz to classical to rap. Ensembles of up to eight members are also eligible, as long as each member meets the age limit and at least one member has a disability.

Four Hawaii winners each will receive $250 cash, plus mentoring and performance opportunities. The finalists will go on to national competition in Washington, D.C.

Deadline to enter is Nov. 15. Call Grace Wood of VSA, 697-1204 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). To download an application, visit www.vsarts.org.

VSA Arts is an affiliate of the Kennedy Center and works with the University of Hawaii Center on Disability Studies and the state Department of Education.

MORSELS

New cookbook is Maui-licious

Flavors of the Valley Isle, from Opakapaka Ceviche to Black Mussels with Thai Curry and Pineapple, are featured in “;Taste of Maui,”; a cookbook project of the Maui Culinary Academy.

The book's 120 recipes were contributed by the academy's chef-instructors, graduates and several Maui chefs, who emphasized Maui-grown produce and food products.

Published by Mutual Publishing, the cookbook sells for $18.95. Visit www.mutualpublishing.com.

Coffee fest draws devotees to Kona

If coffee is your passion, the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival offers a chance to immerse yourself in all the glories of caffeine.

The event runs from Nov. 7 to 16 throughout the Big Island's coffee-growing region.

Kickoff event is New Waves at NELHA, a tour of aquaculture farms and a lunch prepared by the Hawaii Community College Culinary Arts Program, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 7, at the Natural Energy Lab near the Kona Airport. Cost is $100. Call (808) 938-6325; reservations required by Saturday.

Parades, beauty pageants, a coffee-picking contest, concerts, an art exhibition and more fill out the festival.

The centerpiece event is the Gevalia Kona Cupping Competition to choose the best of this year's coffee beans, judged by an international panel of experts. It's free to observe, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 12 and 13 at Keauhou Beach Resort.

Another highlight: the seventh annual Kona Coffee Culinary Invitational, a dining event showcasing local chefs serving up coffee-flavored dishes from appetizers to desserts, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at Keauhou Beach Resort. Tickets are $40 in advance; $45 at the door. Visit www.brownpapertickets.com.

For a full schedule of events, call (808) 326-7820 or visit www.konacoffeefest.com.

2 shows tonight have Hawaii ties

Two former Hawaii residents will be featured on television tonight:

» Blake Kushi, born and raised in Hilo and a graduate of Waiakea High School and the University of Hawaii, landed a guest-starring role in ABC's Emmy Award-winning “;Pushing Daisies.”; The episode entitled “;Dim Sum Lose Some”; airs at 7 p.m.

» “;Jon & Kate Plus 8”; is a reality show about Jon and Kate Gosselin, parents of twins and sextuplets. Jon is from Hawaii, and one show features a trip to Maui, where the couple renewed their vows. Several episodes run back to back tonight, beginning at 7 p.m. on TLC.