Contemporary Pacific Island art, debuts of bold graphic designs and three recently opened exhibitions at the First Hawaiian Center highlight this month's First Friday event:

» It's “;Pan-Pacific Nation”; at The ARTS at Marks Garage (1159 Nuuanu Ave., 521-2903). Not only will there be a selection of contemporary art from Hawaii, the Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Nuie, Samoa and Tonga to view, but there will also be special performances.

A troupe of Pacific Island singers and dancers, Te Lumanaki o Tokelaua, will begin the evening's entertainment, followed by a special performance of Marcus Quiniones' autobiographical “;Circle Around the Island,”; and concluding with the Cook Islands performance arts troupe Teakaora.

» Printmaker Jen Callejo will be curating her first art show, called “;Elevenses,”; at the Black Cat Studio (1157 Bethel St., 524-7580). The show's artists have had their work featured at threadless.com and etsy.com, as well as in award-winning books and national and international periodicals.

The lineup includes Callejo (in collaboration with Ronnie Randall), Aleks Sennwald, Amy Earles, Bradley Capello, Gabby Schulz, Graham Kahler, Julia Sonmi Heglund, Julianna Swaney, Matt Cipov, Meg Hunt and Rebecca Urias. Artists hail from Hawaii, the mainland and the United Kingdom.

Cocktails will be provided, plus live music from She Can Devour.

» Three exhibits are at The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center (999 Bishop St.). Known best for her dynamic, larger-than-life portraits, “;At the Edge: New Paintings by Melinda Morey”; captures the moments of ebb-and-flow at ocean's edge, first by camera, then altered and meticulously drawn. “;Wendy Kawabata: Pull, Poke, Fold”; uses materials such as piles of logs and recycled books to explore the relationship between process, repetition and material. The whimsical sculptures of May Izumi in her “;Once the Tale Is Over”; exhibition are inspired by fairy tales the artist read as a child.

» Aaron Noble's site-specific installation, “;A Work in the Egg Fields,”; is at thirtyninehotel (39 N. Hotel St., 599-2552), as Noble digs deep into the archives of modern fantasy literature, science fiction, comic book superheroes and his own imagination to tease out phantasmagoric creations. (To read more about the venue, go online at starbulletin.com/features/20090302_ where_art_and_artists_ grow_together.html.)

» “;Live from the Lawn”; at the Hawaii State Art Museum (250 Hotel St., 586-0900) will feature a Southeast Asia celebration, with music and dance from Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Java, Cambodia, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as a performance by the University of Hawaii Javanese Gamelan Orchestra.

» In order to promote the upcoming stage run of “;Defending the Caveman”; at Hawaii Theatre (1130 Bethel St., 791-1330), the 1981 comedy cult classic “;Caveman,”; starring Ringo Starr and Dennis Quaid, will screen at 5 and 6:45 p.m., with admission at only a dollar. Guy Cruz will also be singing at the theater's piano bar from 8 and 9 p.m.

» At the Kim Taylor Reece Gallery (1142 Bethel St., 293-2000), Reece himself will have a 30th anniversary show, exhibiting the many hula-based illustrations, paintings and photographs that have brought him international recognition.

For a list of other participating galleries and map with parking information, visit artsatmarks.com.