‘The Trash Show’ kicks off this week at EHCC

Ira Ono, founder of “The Trash Show: Hawaii Artists Recycle,” returns to jury this year’s 30th anniversary edition of one of East Hawaii’s longest-running annual arts events.

The show runs Oct. 5-26 at the East Hawaii Cultural Center in downtown Hilo. The show begins with a gala opening from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 5) and followed by a special dance performance, “My Empty Body is Full of Stars,” by the Prince Dance Theatre company, starting at 7:30 p.m. in EHCC’s upstairs performance space.

Ono’s roots in recycled art go back to his childhood in New York, when he used to scrounge “treasures” for his mom’s antique shop. He already was known for his own recycled art collages and “trash art” jewelry before he moved to the Big Island. He started The Trash Show in 1988 to give other island artists a showcase for original works made from recycled materials.

And they responded, with everything from John Mydock’s fanciful insect sculptures with wings made from old sunglasses lenses to elaborate installation pieces made with beach flotsum. Many pieces had strong political messages about the environment, recycling and pollution.

The show, Ono says, “reminds people that we’re living on an island with limited resources.”

The exhibit proved so popular that he was invited to create similar shows on Maui and Oahu.

For many years, a popular feature of the show was a “Haute Trash Fashion Show” featuring designs by “Trash Goddess” Robin Worley. Those shows ended a few years ago, and Worley now leads Hilo’s Palace Theater.

But this year, Worley’s also returning to judge a special event: artists and members of the public are invited to make their own imaginative headgear and wear it on opening night for the “Haute Trash Hat Contest.”

East Hawaii Cultural Center is located at 141 Kalakaua St. in Hilo.

For more information, visit ehcc.org or call 961-5711.