october • 2013 keiki cover model

Aloha to beautiful Miki‘ana Ake‘akamai Haake, our keiki cover model for October.

Mom is Ly Benjamin, who works as a Makena Services Agent at the Makena Beach & Golf Resort, and dad is Chad Haake, who works with the County of Maui.

Miki‘ana is one of the most photogenic kids we have ever shot (there were no bad photos!), and we have had over 150 keiki covers over the years!

Miki‘ana attends Waihe‘e Elementary School. She loves going to the beach, swimming, surfing, singing, dancing, and spending time with her family. She likes country and Hawaiian music, and loves everything by her favorite musician, “Bruddah Iz.”

Ly shares, “Miki‘ana inspires me to have a personality like she does. She is always smiling, laughing, is very outgoing, and full of Aloha Spirit.”

sushi 101 at the hyatt regency maui: master sushi chef jay ledee is ‘on a roll’

If you think learning the art of sushi making is tedious and boring, think again. Participating in Japengo Restaurant Master Sushi Chef Jay Ledee’s Sushi 101 class at the Hyatt Regency Maui is one of the most delightful assignments I’ve ever been on. Not only does Chef Jay know his stuff, he’s witty, engaging, and his smile could light up the entire state of Alaska in the dead of winter.

Sushi 101 is held in Japengo’s sleek, chic air-conditioned sushi lounge, that’s decorated in shades of orange, green, and gold. As Janet and I enter, we see several tables for two have been set up with materials we’ll need to create sumptuous sushi rolls: rice, crab, tuna, white ginger, water (to tame the sticky rice), julienned cucumbers, sliced avocados (apparently, we won’t be trusted with knives today!), wasabi and, of course, chopsticks so we can eat everything we make.

you got it! a salute to roy orbison: vocal phenom john stephan belts out a tribute to ‘the big o’

John Stephan is the only singer who can do justice to my father’s music,” says Roy Orbison’s son Wesley in a recorded message that opens “You Got It! A Salute to Roy Orbison,” showing four evenings per week at The Maui Theatre in Lahaina. Australian-born Stephan’s four-octave range deftly handles Orbison’s complex compositions and dark emotional ballads in a show that takes you on an entertaining journey down Memory Lane.

Stephan doesn’t try to imitate Orbison’s unique vocal style. Instead, he takes audience members through the storied career of Orbison, covering a multitude of his chart-topping hits. Orbison’s son Wesley provides commentary on his father’s life throughout the show, and Stephan puts the music in the context of Roy Orbison’s life—one that was filled with great success, and an equal measure of sadness and heartbreak.