Source: Maui Time, Maui News, Best of Maui, Maui Activities

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by Kate Bradshaw

June 11, 2009

Happy King K. Day!

Thursday, June 11

To say King Kamehameha Day is a major Hawaiian holiday is like saying chocolate is a major ice cream flavor—true, but a gross understatement. First observed more than 130 years ago after a decree by the king’s grandson, Kamehameha V, the day has long been a chance to honor a revered monarch, dance, attend parades, eat, drink and, yes, take the day off. Though Maui no longer has any major, centralized celebrations, it’s a fine excuse to get together with family and friends and do whatever it is you love to do, while pausing to remember a highly influential historical figure deemed worthy of the title “Great.” [JS]

Hungry freaks, Daddy

Saturday (June 13), 5 & 7:30pm, Castle Theater, MACC

Hippies. While I believe that we’re all duty bound to pull our own weight, and believe one can both have a job and challenge obsolete and arbitrary social institutions, I give credit to those few hippies who can actually articulate their rationale for “dropping out.” (Especially when so many of them drop back in eventually.) Anyhow, “hippie” is just another marketing tool and has been for decades. Taylor Camp, the film directed by Robert Stone that’s screening at the MACC this weekend, documents a hippie wave that washed through Kauai’s north shore from 1969-’77. It all started when Howard Taylor (brother of Elizabeth) bailed out 13 hippies who had been arrested for vagrancy and let them crash on some of his land in Ha‘ena. Word spread and soon surfers, traumatized Vietnam vets and others made the pilgrimage. The scene became clothing optional and grass-conducive. You can guess what happened next. (Hint: it involved the government and a few torches.) I guess the squares wanted to make an example of those who dared to question the great mistake.

Sheer fun

Saturday & Sunday (June 13 & 14), all day, Camp Keanae

Speaking of hippies, the same era that spawned them also churned out some of the best music this planet has ever seen (I’m in my 20s and listening to the Velvet Underground on a Zappa Pandora station as I type.) While Woodstock has been co-opted beyond recognition, multi-day music fests are alive and well. This weekend’s Sheep Dawg Festival is a case-in-point. This Ricochet Productions event combines art community-mindedness and a killer musical lineup to make for a most delightful weekend. Slated performers include, among others, The Itals, Lukas Nelson & the Promise of the Real (Nelson is pictured), Ooklah the Moc, the Goddess Alchemy Project, Jamallad & the Global Citizens and P.O.R.T.A.L. Others attractions include a performance by Kit Kat Club, a trippy blacklight show and aerial acrobatics. Free on-site camping with ticket purchase. $250.

Break out the swank

Saturday (June 13), 10pm, Timba, 505 Front St., Lahaina

It was one of those rare occasions when I found myself on the West side on a Friday evening (logistics, namely distance, are often prohibitive). I was checking out Kit Kat Club at a Front Street drinkery when I was introduced to a man who was in the process of opening up a new nightclub, and looked quite young to be doing so. The bureaucratic processes he described seemed daunting at best, prohibitive at worst. Months later, here we are, and Timba—the new club—is open. It’s a different type of place, I’m told; more on the dressed-to-the-Ts, martini side than that of slippers and Heinekens (though there is no dress code). Saturday night will serve as Timba’s grand opening celebration, and a most stylin’ occasion it is expected to be. DJ Del Sol will be spinning tunes and Rikah of Capp Records will provide live vocals. A number of local companies will provide door prizes, including UFO Parasail and Makena Surfwear. I noticed a few intriguing concoctions on the drink menu, which is featured on the bar’s Web site (timbamaui.com). Call to RSVP, as attendance is limited. $10.

Bad acid

Sunday (June 14), all day, Maui Ocean Center, Maalaea

Of all the great modern environmental catastrophes, global warming is probably the biggest limelight hog. But there is another, possibly scarier hazard believed to accompany excessive CO2 emissions: ocean acidification. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, among other entities, acknowledges this ugly phenomenon. Ocean acidification is believed to occur as a result of the ocean’s absorption of CO2, which lowers the water’s pH (making it more acidic). The pteropod, pictured, is an integral part of the food chain that’s believed to be affected. Acidic water makes it extremely difficult for calcifying organisms—ones that make their shells—to, well, make their shells. Given the importance of coral and other creatures that calcify, a chemically altered marine environment could spell disaster. This is why, if you are remotely concerned, you ought to check out Maui Ocean Center’s screening of Sea Change: Imagine A World Without Fish. It follows retired educator Sven Hussaby to research sites throughout Norway, Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, and incorporates the cultural and economic aspects of this potentially catastrophic phenomenon. Call for show times. It will also screen Tuesday, June 23 as part of MOC’s Sea Talk series.