february • 2020 keiki cover model

Eight-year-old Keoni (Noel) Agmata is a happy third grader at Kamehameha III in Lahaina Town. He loves to surf, sing, and play with his dog Cocopuff.

Mom is Brie Protzeller, restaurant manager at Sansei Kapalua, his dad Noel cooks at Kimo’s, and his tutu wahine is Shirley Enebrad, a personal vacation planner (pre-arrival concierge) for all three Westin resorts on Ka‘anapali Beach.

Mom shared, “Keoni is such a sweet boy and freely shares his aloha spirit with everyone he meets. Hugs and kisses are his thing. He inspires me to treat guests with the same sense of aloha.”

the leis family class act restaurant: uh maui college culinary students shine in living classroom

One of Maui’s best-kept culinary secrets is located on the second floor of the Pa‘ina Building on the UH Maui College campus. For the past 15 years, Leis Family Class Act (LFCA) has been wowing guests with creative and tasty three-course prix-fixe meals, earning this student-run dining room a spot on Open Table’s prestigious list of top 100 restaurants in the United States.

Under the guidance and watchful eyes of Chef Instructor Tom Lelli and Dining Room Instructor Mark Malone, second-year culinary program students enrolled in the course entitled “Culinary 160—Dining Room Service” spend one half of the 16-week semester in the LFCA kitchen learning to prepare a variety of dishes based on a weekly theme, and the other half in the front of the house honing their skills as server, bartender, and maitre d’. “Roles are rotated weekly, so students gain the full experience,” Mark tells me. “This is the only course in the entire culinary program where students receive actual dining-room training, and many are ready to be servers after completing this class.”

humpbacks of hawai‘i exhibit & sphere celebrates anniversary!

A year ago, the Maui Ocean Center opened its Humpbacks of Hawai‘i Exhibit & Sphere, creating a new and immersive dimension to Maui’s fabled humpback whale season. Until now, visitors have observed humpbacks from above the ocean’s surface. The Humpbacks of Hawai‘i experience breaks this barrier, transporting viewers into the humpbacks’ world beneath the waves for a rare, face-to-face encounter with one of the world’s most majestic marine mammals.

Heralded as the first exhibit of its kind in the United States, the Humpbacks of Hawai‘i Exhibit & Sphere saw over three years in its development that included production by German filmmaker Daniel Opitz, filming expeditions off Maui’s coastline, and collaboration with the local and scientific communities of Maui.

maui plein air painting invitational saturday, february 15 – sunday, february 23

What is the Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational? This 9-day event highlights 24 professional plein air painters from throughout Hawai‘i, the United States mainland, and Australia. The painters capture the images of Maui – its people, its beaches and ocean scenes, its majestic mountains and valleys, and its historical buildings. The public watch artists create inspiring artworks, attend art sales, and attend educational events.

Artists create inspiring paintings from locations around Maui and specifically at Lahaina Harbor, Kapalua Bay, and Royal Lahaina Resort Beach Area. Guests and locals will love this up close and personal experience with these talented artists!

14th annual whale tales presented by whale trust

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), Maui, Hawaii

Whale Trust invites the public to join world-renowned scientists, photographers, and conservationists at the 14th Annual Whale Tales, February 14th-17th, at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. Whale Tales is presented annually by Whale Trust, a Maui-based nonprofit organization dedicated to whale research and ocean education. The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua has been home to Whale Tales (formerly Whale Quest) since the inception of the event in 2006.

Whale Tales is both an educational event that bridges the information gap between scientists working in the field and the public and a means to raise funds to support whale research in Hawai‘i. In 13 years, Whale Tales has raised more than $725,000 for whale research in Hawaii and reached tens of thousands of people, including thousands of local schoolchildren.