FOOD

Puffs tempt with variety

If you haven't been to Beard Papa's in a while, you may be surprised to see savory sandwiches in addition to the sweet treats. That's what's happened since the company, started in Osaka, Japan, in 1999, started its franchise operation in this country, and the Japanese quest met American ingenuity and creativity.

No one said the puff had to be filled with cream alone, so at the local Beard Papa stores, you'll now find a simple selection of petite sandwiches ($3.50) filled with your choice of tuna, seafood (surimi) salad, chicken salad with raisins and walnuts, and egg salad.

The crunchy shell that works so well as pastry takes some getting used to when the savories are introduced. The puff itself doesn't have the buttery flakiness of the usual croissant, or the sturdiness of bread. Because of the puff's relatively small size, you may also need two to fill up.

But no one says both have to be savory. The small sandwich leaves room—both physical and psychological—for a guilt-free dessert of a cream-filled puff.

For Valentine's Day, you might also want to pick up a batch of Strawberry Shortcake Cream Puffs with a chocolate-coated puff shell and valentine sprinkles, at $2.75 each.

Look for them inside the Ala Moana Center Foodland, Ewa Town Center, inside Foodland Hawaii Kai, at Food Pantry Kuhio, and the Pearl City and Salt Lake shopping centers.

FAMILY

Explore animation from start to finish

Bishop Museum welcomes its newest traveling exhibit, “;Animation,”; which runs through May 10.

Developed by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in collaboration with Cartoon Network, visitors explore animation from concept to finished product—that is, from storyboarding, character design and drawing techniques to movement, timing, filming and sound.

The exhibit also touches upon the history of animation and features a screening room and a cartoon museum.

And all this with the help of characters from “;Dexter's Laboratory,”; “;The Kids Next Door”; and “;Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.”;

Call 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org—and see our feature on the exhibit in next week's HILife section.

BENEFIT

'Bookzilla' sale boosts library's A-V collection

In this current economy, cheap is good, and when it's also for a good cause, that's even better.

The literary crowd especially will love this sale, to help benefit Kaimuki Public Library's audiovisual collection. Bookzilla's Big Book Sale, running from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, will offer thousands of books, as well as a large assortment of CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, audiobooks and vinyl LPs.

Because of its size, the sale will be held in the downstairs parking lot of the library, located at 1041 Koko Head Ave. Call 733-8423.

MUSIC

Japanese handbell choir performs 2 free concerts

Celebrating its 21st anniversary, the internationally recognized Hakuoh University Handbell Choir from Japan will be performing two free concerts next week.

The 18 female-student group will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Central Union Church, 1660 S. Beretania St., and 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Paliku Theatre on the grounds of Windward Community College.

The choir will perform a range of selections, from classical standards including Mozart's “;Le nozze di Figaro”; to contemporary favorites from the musical theater version of “;The Lion King.”;

The group is known for its annual performance at Tokyo Disneyland. Call 956-0321.

FREEBIE

'Magic of Jazz' features Baltazar and friends

A couple of days after he appears at “;The Jazz Intersection”; concert at 'Iolani School (see our Do It! calendar), Gabe Baltazar, along with singer Anita Hall and a top-notch grouping of fellow jazz musicians, will perform at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Kapiolani Community College's Ohia Cafeteria.

It's part of an ongoing series of weekly lunchtime concerts, “;The Magic of Jazz,”; at the scenic Diamond Head campus.

Rounding out the free series on Feb. 26 will be the husband-and-wife duo of DeShannon Higa and Rocky Brown, accompanied by their jazzy friends.

Call 732-5103 or visit www.ebbtidesmusic.com.