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Date: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 @ 6:30 PM
Location: Kona Stories Bookstore, Kainaliu

This woman-identified group meets at Kona Stories once a month to discuss films and books of lesbian nature. This month the group will watch the film “Gender Rebel” and discuss it.

Director Elaine Epstein’s captivating documentary explores the lives of three biological females who reject the conventional concepts of gender and see themselves not as female or male, but something in between. The camera follows these individuals as they encounter challenges at every turn — from the strain on their relationships to confrontations from communities intolerant of their way of life — and find a way to cope with social alienation.

Film donation is $5; bring a pupu or beverage to share.

For more information on this group, call Kona Stories at 808-324-0350.

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The Friends of the Libraries, Kona will host a free read-aloud program, “Books are Building Blocks,” 4:30-6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2 at the Kailua Kona Public Library.

Parents must attend the program with their children. Participation is limited to the first 75 people.

The program is designed to encourage family literacy. There will be five separate reading groups: ages 5 to 7, 8 to 10, 11 to 13, 14 to 18, and their parents. Each group will have a person reading aloud to them, followed by a discussion of what was read.

Registration is 4:30 p.m. in front of the library. Families will then separate into groups with a reader. Afterward, the families will meet on the lanai for free refreshments, prizes and books.

To preregister, volunteer, sponsor this program, or for more information, contact Shani Dutton at 936-6190 or e-mail folk@folkhawaii.com.

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The Friends of the Libraries, Kona (FOLK) will hold its next book sale 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9 on the lanai of the Kailua-Kona Library.

Funds from sales help support the needs of Kona libraries, with funding that includes educational and entertainment programs, community summer reading programs, visiting authors, magazine subscriptions, CD’s, DVD’s and new book purchases.

Take advantage of great prices and as always volunteers are welcome. If you find yourself willing and able, e-mail FOLK@folkhawaii.com or call 329-3440.

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Big Island author Sophia V. Schweitzer will be at the Kohala and Kaloko branches of Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union this holiday season to autograph her new book, “Big Island Journey, An Illustrated Narrative of The Island of Hawaii.”

Released in November by Mutual Publishing, “Big Island Journey” is a coffee table book that Schweitzer collaborated on with photo editor and publisher Bennett Hymer.

In celebration of the book’s launch, Mutual Publishing has partnered with The Food Basket and Hawaii Community FCU on a special introductory offer of $26 per book, including tax. The introductory rate applies exclusively to books purchased at a credit union branch or at The Food Basket offices in Hilo or Kona; it is good through Dec. 31.

Available at any of Hawaii Community FCU’s branches, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of “Big Island Journey” will benefit The Food Basket.

Books are also available via mail order by downloading an order form found at www.hicommfcu.com

Schweitzer will be available to autograph books at the Kohala branch 10 a.m.-noon Monday, Nov. 30 and 3:30-5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4. Also, Schweitzer will sign books 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Kaloko branch.

The 256-page “Big Island Journey” uses vintage archival images and the author’s story-telling skills to capture the history of the Island of Hawaii from early Polynesian settlement through the 21st century. This is the most recent of Mutual Publishing’s “nostalgic picture” books, driven by the passion of photo editor Hymer for vintage photographs.

The books are available in other stores, with a suggested retail price of $40.

“We are very pleased to offer Hawaii residents the opportunity to purchase ‘Big Island Journey’ at our five branches,” says Michael Asam, President/CEO of Hawaii Community FCU. “With the holidays coming, book lovers should take advantage of this special offer and make two gifts out of one purchase – benefiting both someone on their gift list and needy residents who turn to The Food Basket for assistance.”

The Food Basket is a clearinghouse for food and non-food items that are then distributed around Hawaii Island to help alleviate hunger. It is the credit union’s designated charity in 2009 and 2010.

— Find out more:

www.hicommfcu.com

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Dorothy Hinshaw Patent will be on hand to talk of her adventures from Alaska to Ecuador and China to France at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24 at the Kailua-Kona Public Library.

Dorothy has been writing nonfiction books for children for 35 years.  Her passion for personal experience about her subject matter has led her far and wide as she investigates everything from polar bears to the fauna of the Galapagos Islands and from the terra cotta warriors of China’s first emperor to the fabulous prehistoric paintings of the Lascaux cave in France.

Dorothy will accompany her talk with a slide show illustrating her adventures.

Sponsored by Friends of the Libraries, Kona, this program is offered free to the public.

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The American Folklore Society has awarded “Naupaka” the 2009 Aesop Prize for Children’s Folklore, authored by the late Nona Beamer.

Published by Kamahoi Press, an arm of Bishop Museum Press, “Naupaka” tells the legendary tale of two villagers and their love for each other.

In this loving testament to her legacy of storytelling, Beamer tells of a time long, long ago, when a romance blossomed between “Naupaka,” a kind and beautiful Hawaiian princess, and Kaui, a handsome and gentle commoner.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Caren Keala Loebel-Fried and includes an audio CD featuring Nona Beamer with musical accompaniment by slack-key master, Keola Beamer.

The Aesop Award Committee, which praised its bilingual presentation, stated, “Naupaka, released shortly after (Aunty Nona’s) death, reflects her care not only in retelling the story, but in providing cultural context, botanical details and sources for further research.”

The Aesop Prize and Aesop Accolades are conferred annually by the Children’s Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society.

The award criteria include:  Folklore should be central to the books’s content and, if appropriate, to its illustrations; the folklore presented in the book should accurately reflect the culture and worldview of the people whose folklore is the focus of the book; the reader’s understanding of folklore should be enhanced by the book, as should be enhanced by the presence of folklore; the book should reflect the high artisitic standards of the best of children’s literature and have strong appeal to the child reader; and folklore sources must be fully acknowledged and annotations referenced within the bound contents of the publication.

“We are delighted that ‘Naupaka’ has received this prestigious award,” said Bishop Museum President & CEO, Timothy Johns. “This award not only gives national attention to the legend of Naupaka, but also honors the late Aunty Nona who was an iconic figure of the Hawaiian cultural renaissance.”

Written in both English and Hawaiian, “Naupaka” is available at Bishop Museum’s Shop Pacifica and other fine booksellers throughout the islands.

Bishop Museum Press is Hawaii’s oldest book publisher and one of the first scholarly publishers in the Western Hemisphere.

For more information about Bishop Museum, visit www.bishopmuseum.org or call (808) 847-3511.

Original interior of St. Michael the Archangel Church, Kailua-Kona, date unknown. (Photo courtesy of the Society of Mary)

Bobby Command | Hawaii 24/7 Contributor

‘North Kona’s Catholic Heritage … Remembered’ is a publication of the North Kona Catholic Community

Churches not only provide spiritual support to our communities, but they also serve as a tangible link to our past. Significantlty, older structures represent strength of faith – both figuratively and literally.

In other words, while secular buildings eventually run out of usefulness, churches typically stand the strength of time.

Father Benno Evers is credited with rebuilding Immaculate Conception Church within eight months after it was destroyed by fire in 1943. (Photo courtesy of North Kona Catholic Community)

Consider Mokuaikaua, the oldest church in Hawaii, built while the daimyo still ruled Japan; Lanakila in Honalo, which was constructed only a year after peace was restored in the United States at Appomattox; and even Umi’s Heiau on the slopes of Hualalai, likely erected during the lifetime of Michelangelo.

So it is distressful to the entire community around it when a church is damaged or destroyed. But such is the case with St. Michael the Archangel Church, which was built in 1848 and damaged during the 2006 earthquake. After all its service, the church currently is being demolished.

However, a wonderful publication, “North Kona’s Catholic Heritage … Remembered,” has been released in commemoration not just of of St. Michael’s, but of the rich history of Catholicism in Kona, which began with the arrival of Fathers Ernest Heurtel and Robert Walsh.

By July 1840, the first mass was celebrated on the Big Island.

In 1855, St. Michael’s was dedicated and it has since been one of the centers of activity in the community, offering everything from Catholic Youth Organization  sports to outreach for the homeless, not to mention the spiritual support for all Catholics in West Hawaii.

“North Kona’s Catholic Heritage” is a vivid and lively companion not just to the everlasting mark made by Catholics in West Hawaii, but is also a document of history, with compelling photographs showcasing, for example, St. Peter’s Church at Kahaluu with a dirt Alii Drive in front of it, the original Immaculate Conception Church in Holualoa (which burned down in 1943) and Confirmation Day in the 1950s (no Kailua Village condo between the church and Hualalai).

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In 1840, two French priests arrived here from Oahu to bring Catholicism to the Big Island. The optimistic and hard-working clergymen overcame a score of challenges to pave the way for the founding of St. Michael the Archangel mission.

A stone hitching post inside today’s Kona Plaza Shopping Arcade marks the location of the island’s first Catholic mass.

The parish’s Heritage Committee produced “North Kona’s Catholic Heritage … Remembered,” which was printed on recycled paper in Hawaii. It sells for $20 with tax and proceeds benefit the church’s Building Fund.

Copies of the book are being sold at St. Michael’s Church, and also are available via mail by sending a check or money order for $22.50 to North Kona Catholic Community, 75-5769 Alii Drive, Kailua-Kona, HI  96740.

For further information, call 326-7771 or email office@stmichaelskona.org

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The Friends of the Libraries, Kona (FOLK) hosts a book sale 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 on the lanai of the Kailua-Kona Public Library.

Funds from sales help support the needs of Kona libraries, with funding that includes educational and entertainment programs, community summer reading programs, visiting authors, magazine subscriptions, CD’s, DVD’s and new book purchases.

Come and take advantage of great prices and as always volunteers are welcome.

If you find yourself willing and able, e-mail FOLK@folkhawaii.com or call 323-2117.

Message from FOLK:

Please go into your public library this week.  It is COUNT WEEK and your physical presence may keep our library open.

Drop by to the Kealakekua branch, meet Kipapa, a children’s and young adult’s librarian from Waimea who is helping to bring things up to standard.

And meet Moea who until recently worked at the Kailua branch.

At the same time, the librarian has put out comment sheets and is actively soliciting feedback.

Here is a chance for the community to speak out about what we want to see happening in our library.

Every person who goes in will be counted and those numbers will help show that these branches should be kept open.

— Find out more:

 www.folkhawaii.com

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The Friends of the Libraries, Kona hosts a free read-aloud program: “Books are Building Blocks” from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6 at the Kailua Kona Public Library.

This program will continue to be offered the first Tuesday evening of each month and will give families the opportunity to enjoy books being read aloud for children ages 5-18.   

The adults will have their own reading group and must attend the program with their children (no exceptions).  

There will be five separate reading groups: ages 5-7, ages 8-10, ages 11-13, ages 14-18, and their parent(s).

Each group will have a person reading aloud to them, followed by a discussion of what was read.

Registration is 4:30-5:15 p.m. in the library lobby. Families will then separate into groups with a reader. 

Afterward, the families will meet on the lanai for refreshments, prizes, and a book swap.

FOLK is seeking volunteers with a dramatic flair to read aloud to children or adults. Whether you commit to one time or ongoing readings, your help is needed and appreciated.  

To pre-register, volunteer, or for more information, contact Lisa Thomas at 443-1093 or e-mail folkhawaii@yahoo.com.

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The Kona Library Book Club meets 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept 15 on the lanai of the Kailua-Kona Library to discuss “The Sixteen Pleasures,” a work of fiction by Robert Hellenga.  

This is the story of 29-year-old Margot Harrington who travels to Florence, in the wake of the disastrous 1966 flood, to volunteer her considerable skills in the art restoration efforts. In her endeavor to save the waterlogged library of a convent, she befriends the abbess of the troubled convent, discovers a priceless book of 16 erotic drawings and poems, and embarks on her own journey of spiritual and erotic awakening.  

Italian politics, church politics, art world deceptions, love and betrayal all figure in to the imaginative plot.

The Kona Library Book Club meets again Oct. 20 to discuss “Angels Fall,” which takes place on the Big Island. The author, local award-winning mystery writer Baron Birtcher, will be in attendance.

Sponsored by Friends of the Libraries, Kona, new members are welcome and light refreshments will be served.