CRIB NOTES

Final weekend for home show

Last chance to take in the BIA-Hawaii Homebuilding and Remodeling Show—Head for the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall this weekend for inspiration and tips on improving your home.

Hours are 5 to 9 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $5; $7 for a weekend pass. Children get in free with an adult. Seniors pay $1 on Sunday.

For a $2-off coupon, visit www.biahawaii.org.

'Clean House' host to appear at SoHa

It's the “;Clean House”; of it all, Niecy Nash might say, as the host of Style Network's hit home makeover show makes an appearance at SoHa Living at Ward Centre tomorrow with the rest of the cast.

Drop by from 7:30 to 9 p.m. to meet Nash and the rest of the cast, get autographs, and take in the bargains during SoHa's moving sale.

The store will relocate to its new Kahala Mall location in early spring.

Call 591-9777.

DA KINE

Seminars clarify financial aid forms

Students preparing for college—and their parents preparing for the bills to come—are invited to this weekend's College Goal Sunday.

The Pacific Financial Aid Association and the Hawaii Association for College Admission Counseling are hosting free sessions at 1 p.m. Sunday at four high schools: Waipahu, Waianae, McKinley and Castle.

Advisers will offer help completing the Application for Federal Student Aid, which is required by most colleges, universities and vocational/technical schools.

Parents should bring their 2008 tax return, W-2 forms or other 2008 income and benefits information (students over age 24 should bring their own tax forms). The tax form does not have to be complete.

No registration is required. Call 593-2262 or 591-2708, or visit www.cgshawaii.org.

Yoga Day USA includes free class

A free yoga class will be offered tomorrow in celebration of Yoga Day USA at Lululemon Athletica in Ala Moana Center's Nordstrom wing.

Yoga Day is a national event aimed at promoting yoga's ability to improve health and reduce stress.

The free class will run from 8 to 9 a.m.

Call 946-7220 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Symphony offers music workshops

The Honolulu Symphony is offering free training sessions for teachers on how to bring music into the classroom.

The two-hour workshops will introduce the symphony's spring curriculum for Youth Concerts and In-School Ensembles, along with methods to prepare their students for a symphony concert.

The session for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers is at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the SERVCO Pacific Center. Teachers of first through third grades may attend the 3:30 p.m. Thursday session at the same site.

Participating teachers will receive two tickets to an upcoming concert.

To register call 524-0815, ext. 222, or visit www.honolulusymphony.com. Click on “;Education and Community,”; then “;In-School Ensemble.”;

Youth chorus holds Leeward auditions

Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus is establishing a children's chorus in Leeward Oahu. Auditions for the new ensemble will be held from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. Wednesday at Ka Waihona Public Charter School.

Children in grades four through six from the Leeward coast are invited to audition. A maximum of 40 will be accepted for the group, to be called the Leeward Coast Chorus. No experience is required.

To audition, complete the online registration form at www.hyoc.org.

The school is at 89-195 Farrington Highway; auditions will be held in the music room. Call 521-2982.

Tickets on sale for Beethoven fest

If Beethoven is your guy, then the Hawaii Beethoven Festival is your kinda event, and it's time to get tickets.

The Honolulu Symphony's first concert series celebrating Beethoven's masterpieces comprises four concerts in March and April.

Andreas Delfs conducts the programs, to feature the “;Eroica,”; “;Pastoral”; and Fifth symphonies, the Violin Concerto and the Triple Concerto. The symphony's concertmaster, Ignace Jang, will be featured on violin, along with three guest artists making their Honolulu debuts: pianist John O'Conor, violinist Robert McDuffie and cellist Yehuda Hanani.

Tickets, previously available only to season ticket holders, are now on sale to the general public at the symphony box office and Ticketmaster locations. Call 792-2000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices are $20 to $82.

HOME & GARDEN

Green House hosts garden workshops

The Green House will be holding a pair of workshops Jan. 31:

» Discover innovative ways to optimize the growing potential of neglected spaces and paved surface areas. Hunter Heaivilin will teach strategies to create a garden in the most unlikely places—even between sidewalk cracks.

» Learn to grow a garden of flowers using a water-catchment system. Jeremai Cann will explain how to install a system that will feed a water garden.

Hours for both classes are 1:30 to 3 p.m. Cost for each is $15 and registration is required. Call 524-8427 or visit the Web site thegreenhousehawaii.com.

Feng shui expert needs model home

Feng shui practitioner Alice Inoue is offering her services to those who will allow her to use the experience as a teaching tool for her class of six students.

Two homes will be selected to receive services that would normally cost $270 to $450.

Dates for the sessions cannot be rescheduled and are as follows:

» Home feng shui blessing: 3:30 p.m. Feb. 7
» Home feng shui: 1:30 p.m. Feb. 8
» Home feng shui: 3 p.m. Feb. 9

If you would like your home to be selected, submit your request and preference by next Friday to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

In your e-mail, include in a few sentences on whether you would like a blessing or a consultation for your home, why you are interested in submitting your property for consideration, whether you are in the process of remodeling or are planning on doing so, the number of bedrooms/bath-rooms, the age of your home and whether you have a yard.

Homes that have been selected will be notified by e-mail by Feb. 1.

Raised-bed garden techniques taught

Learn to grow your own food in a class on raised-bed gardening, 3 to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at Olomana Gardens in Waimanalo.

Elevated-bed gardening is less labor-intensive and more productive than conventional methods. Presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects Hawaii Chapter, the class costs $20 and is part of the chapter's six-part “;Growing Green”; series taking place at Olomana Gardens.

The staff of the gardens, guided by Glenn Martinez and Elizabeth “;Liz”; Mandeville Martinez, is dedicated to serving the community through their Hawaiian tropical garden that serves as a model for modern, sustainable agriculture.

To register, call 956-8400 or visit outreach.hawaii.edu/noncredit.