The theme of this year’s 20th Annual Ukulele Festival at Hawaii Preparatory Academy is “The Magic of Motown.” The special anniversary event will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, at Gates Performing Arts Center, located at HPA’s Upper Campus. It is free and open to the public.
More than 120 students from Hawaii Preparatory Academy, Kealakehe Intermediate School, and Waikoloa School will perform under the direction of Georgia Polakova, Dagan Bernstein, and Barbara Kopra, all of HPA; Gloria Juan of Kealakehe; and Lani Opunui of Waikoloa. Alumni from the ukulele and choral programs from these schools are invited to join this milestone program.
According to Polakova, one of the event founders 20 years ago, three music directors from three separate schools, one from Oahu and two from the Big Island, met at the Hawaii State Music Conference and dreamed of a tri-school ukulele festival.
“Never in our wildest dreams did we think this festival would grow into such an amazing event involving so many students,” Polakova said. “This year, audiences can expect the beautiful sound of ukulele, youthful voices, energetic dancing, some sharing of the history of Motown, and always some surprises. It all adds up to “The Magic of Motown,” a wonderful family event!”
Past themes have included “The Wonderful World of Disney,” “The Beatles,” “Lights! Camera! Action!,” and “Iz: The Man and His Music,” among others. For more information, please call 885-2501 or 885-2500.
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Value-added and specialty foods consultant Lou Cooperhouse will present “Food Business Basics: Getting Started and Finding Your Niche in the Specialty Foods Business” workshops in Hilo, Honokaa and Pahala on March 11–13.
The workshops are designed for farmers seeking to develop their raw product into a value-added product and bring it to market, entrepreneurs and restaurateurs interested in diversifying their revenue streams with specialty food products, and established producers looking to take their food businesses to the next level. The Kohala Center and University of Hawaii Maui College are sponsoring and facilitating the workshops, which are made possible by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program grant. The East Hawaii Community Development Corp. is providing additional support.
The dates, times, and locations of the workshops are: Hilo on Monday, March 11, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at Hawaii TechWorks, 230 Kekuanaoa St., co-sponsored with East Hawaii Community Development Corporation; Honokaa on Tuesday, March 12, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., North Hawaii Education and Research Center, 45-539 Plumeria St. and Pahala: Wednesday, March 13, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Pahala Community Center, 96-1149 Kamani St.
Following Cooperhouse’s three-hour “Food Business Basics” workshops, Nicole Milne, agricultural business development specialist at The Kohala Center, will present two one-hour sessions focused on financial resources available to Hawaii farmers and strategies for marketing agricultural products. Registration is $35 per participant in advance, and includes access to all three workshops and lunch. Participants may register online at http://www.laulimacenter.org/foodbasics.html or by calling (808) 443-2755. Registrations at the door will be on a space-available basis for $50 per participant with lunch subject to availability.
In addition, Cooperhouse will also conduct 30-minute one-on-one consulting sessions each afternoon with pre-selected workshop participants. Registrants interested in the one-on-one consultations must complete and submit a brief application, available for download at http://www.laulimacenter.org/pdf/FBB_Consult_App.pdf, by Friday, March 1. Applicants will be notified by March 8 whether or not they are selected for the consultations, which are being offered at no additional charge.
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Hawaii Procurement Technical Assistance Center and Hawaii Small Business Development Center will present a free “Government Contracting 101 & HubZone Certification Process” workshop to help small business owners secure government contracts. The workshop will be from 9:15 a.m.-12 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, at Hawaii Community College Manono Campus building 379-1.
Business owners will learn how the government buys goods and services; how to become certified and registered on the federal, state, and local levels and find government contracting prime and subcontracting opportunities.
HIPTAC is a federally-funded program that provide free services to small businesses interested in government contracts. Limited space. Register early. Registration required by 2/27/13. For more information or to register call SBDC at 933-0776 or visit www.hisbdc.org to register online.
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A Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the Koa Palace conference room in Hilo (C. Brewer building).
The following items will be addressed: Future of the association, hosting the next world macadamia group meeting (the last one was held in Australia), and food safety at the orchard level (a concern of the processors). Anyone with an interest in Hawaii’s macadamia industry that is not on this email list is welcome.
Carol Yurth’s column is published every Sunday and spotlights activities on the Hilo-Hamakua coast. She welcomes items for her column. Reach her by mail (46-1250 Kalehua Road, Honokaa HI 96727) at least 10 days before the requested publication date, call her at 775-7101, or e-mail waiukahenutz@gmail.com.
