june 2010 keiki cover model • zion

Zion Kelekona Ku‘uaki Malulani Acquintas

This month’s cover model is two-year-old Zion Kelekona Ku‘uaki Malulani Acquintas, son of Leila Larson and Lorien Acquintas. Leila works for Wyndham Vacation Resorts as a marketing agent and the family lives in Kihei.

The day of Zion’s photo shoot was great, watching him play with the koi at ‘Iao Valley’s Kepaniwai Park! Zion loves to dance to music at home, loves surfing, playing ukulele and sharing time with his whole family.

Mom shares, “Zion was just involved in the Pacific Island Prince Pageant and he won ‘Best Personality’ and the title of ‘Prince’.” The family is taking him to the Big Island for the finals – Good luck Zion, you are definitely a prince in our eyes! “He puts a smile on my face every morning before I go to work. It makes me work harder every day to give him everything,” shares Leila.

29th kapalua wine & food festival returns to maui

Hawai‘i’s longest-running wine and food event returns June 24–27, 2010, allowing island visitors and residents an up-close look at the latest trends in food, wine, and Hawaiian Cuisine all within the beautiful setting of the Kapalua Resort.

Returning host, Master Sommelier Fred Dame will bring several of the world’s most famous winemakers, master sommeliers and celebrated chefs to wine tastings, a gourmet cooking demonstration and festive gala functions held throughout the weekend at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua.

For the first time, the four-day event themed “Summer Soirée” will highlight Hawai‘i’s Regional Cuisine and embrace the “Farm to Fork” concept through an exciting new partnership with the Maui County Farm Bureau. Chef DK Kodama, owner of DK Restaurants, will be the featured Festival Chef and will delight participants during Sunday’s highly anticipated luncheon “DK’s Secrets: Sansei Style.”

give us some slack • ki ho‘alu hawaiian slack key guitar festival

Who knew that wild cattle roaming on the Big Island would lead to one of Hawai‘i’s most beloved musical genre? When England gifted King Kamehameha III with a herd of cattle, a kapu was placed by the King to protect them. The cows eventually became a nuisance and, in 1832, the king brought vaqueros or cowboys from Mexico and Spain to help teach the Hawaiians how to herd the overpopulated livestock.

At night, the vaqueros and paniolos, Hawaiian cowboys, would gather around the campfire and play their guitars, singing songs about the day’s hard work and the beauty of their surroundings. It was said that when the vaqueros returned to the mainland a few years later, they left their guitars with their newfound paniolo friends. The paniolos remembered some basics but developed a style of their own, and ki ho‘alu or slack key guitar music was born.

On June 27, thousands will gather at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center’s events lawn to celebrate this Hawaiian tradition. Milton Lau, the founder and producer of the Ki Ho‘alu Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival created the event in 1982 as a tribute to Gabby “Pops” Pahinui, the father of modern slack key. Rising from a humble and impoverished childhood and into an international musical success, Pahinui is credited for taking slack key music worldwide, particularly during the Hawaiian cultural renaissance in the 1960’s. When he passed away in 1980 from a heart attack, Lau felt the need to commemorate not only his contributions to the music but also the cultural pride that he instilled among the younger generations.

sun, fun & everything in between • honolua bay with gemini charters

Any day when the sun is out and you find yourself on Honolua Bay is a perfect day. So my friend Tenneh and I could not contain ourselves when we headed to Ka‘anapali Beach to board the Gemini, a well-maintained 64-foot catamaran operated by the Shipp family and their wonderful crew for more than two decades.

Cruise director David Foellinger, also the designated “keeper of all memories for this ocean tribe,” checked us in for this exciting snorkel sail trip. I get how he got penned this title. David has been with the Gemini family since 1984 and shares an abundant flow of stories and naturalist info. He arrived in Maui 28 years ago and joined the SuperStar crew with owners Gary and Ming Shipp.

In 1990, after SuperStar was sold, Gemini arrived via Seattle to Kona and a partnership with the Westin Maui Resort began. In 1992, tragedy struck when Gary suffered a shallow water black out after free diving in Lana‘i leaving his young family behind. The loyal crew stayed strong and vowed to continue his legacy. More than half the team has been with Gemini since it first launched from Ka‘anapali and, in many ways, has grown to be a real family.

“We are a one-boat family business,” said David. “We take 49 people max so the quality of our service is maintained. In the past 20 years, we have worked with the Westin where guests return year after year. We have met some as children who are now with their own children and we just love to see them.”

a first time for everything… windsurfing with HST

I’m not afraid of falling. That’s what I tell myself as I grip the rope and slowly pull the submersed windsurf sail out of the aqua water at Kanaha Beach Park. My lesson buddy, Allyson, has already begun to sail out into deeper water. “Don’t go too far,” our instructor shouts from the shore.

Like a newborn doe, my legs tremble as I try to stand up straight on the wide beginners windsurfing board. As I bring the sail to my chest to catch the mid-morning breeze, I begin to bob and weave like an untrained boxer avoiding a punch. Just as Alan reassures me that I’m doing well, the slight winds catches my sail and I fall backwards into the shallow water. It’s all-good though: the water is warm, the sand is soft, and my instructor is a patient man. “Try it again,” he says, as he steadies my board. I proceed to hoist myself back on and begin the challenge again.

market fresh bistro • makawao’s farm to table favorite

“If you’re a farmer, let us know what you grow!” The request is written across the bottom of the menu at Market Fresh Bistro—and it’s not just for show.

Owners David Magenheim, Justin Pardo and Olivia Coletti have made it their goal to use only the most local food available in their Makawao restaurant. The result is an almost 95-percent local selection for the dinner menu (served three nights a week), and about 85-percent local for breakfast and lunch (served all week).

On a chilly Upcountry Thursday evening the intimate restaurant has a relaxed ambience not unlike being invited into a friend’s kitchen. It’s the first time I’ve been to Market Fresh Bistro for dinner, although I’ve enjoyed their popular breakfast menu several times over the last year since they opened.

star noodle… brightens up the westside

In early February, I was excited to hear that the much-anticipated Star Noodle in Lahaina was now open. After the owners and ‘ohana of Old Lahaina Luau had tirelessly spent five years searching the globe for inspiration for the concept, menu, décor and vibe for this hip 60-seat eatery, the doors were finally open to the public on February 4.

To find this hidden gem you head up the hill on Keawe Street across from Lahaina Cannery Mall, make a right turn on Kupuohi and drive through the Lahaina Business Park, pass Emerald Plaza and keep on going, don’t give up. At the very top you will see a brand new building with ample parking. Some may wonder how this location will do hidden in the industrial area, but wait until you get inside and taste the incredible food. This is an absolute destination!

exercise with a view…kapalua

The morning sun is sparkling on the dew-wet green, and a few golfers are already warming up their swings when we arrive at the Kapalua Adventure Center. It’s a perfect day for a hike: cool and clear, with birds chattering in the trees that line the Kapalua Golf Course.

At a table in the hallway of the Adventure Center, the five adults in our group (plus two babies in frontpacks) pick up trail maps and sign liability waivers for the Village Course Temporary Walking Trails. Our plans of taking a coffee for the road are dashed when we see that the café has recently closed down. Still, on such a beautiful morning, we’re just glad the trails are open while plans for the area’s future are being decided.

pleasure your palate at bistro casanova…

A culinary offspring of Makawao’s long-time favorite, Casanova, Kahului’s Bistro Casanova forges its own profile with a Mediterranean-inspired menu. From the cuisine’s bold flavors to its chic interior down to the friendly scene, it is obvious that high-spirited owner Giovanni “Steven” Cappelli has once again given the island a crave-worthy venue.

“Of course, we always aim to please our locals,” says Cappelli. “But we also would like to draw in the visitors who are passing time before their red-eye flight and want a great last meal on Maui, the folks coming from a concert at the MACC or the honeymooners who find themselves in Kahului and want a romantic dinner.”