Still Here Folks! :)

Aloha Everyone! Just a quick update... I do apologize for not being around lately. I have been tied up with numerous Performance Arts projects and have not had a real chance to sit down and take some time to Talk Story. However, I am almost caught up with my work and I will be back very soon to shoot the breeze including to tell you about a stageplay that I wrote for the upcoming Women In Theatre's "Kauai Shorts" Festival! So until then, talk to you soon!

The Women In Theatre: "Kauai Shorts" 2013

If you’re on Kauai and been living under a rock, or not from around here, you've probably never heard about Hawaii’s very own, Women In Theatre (also known as WIT). And if you haven’t, let me tell you about them and their next amazing project, The “Kauai Shorts” Festival!

First, let me give you a brief history about the Women in Theatre, or WIT, as we like to call them. As stated on their website:

Drug Testing Welfare Recipients

The other day, a friend of mine re-posted a picture that has been going around on Facebook. You might have seen it. It’s this one right here.

C.K.M.S. Choir going to the Na Leo Pili Mai Choral Festival

If you haven’t heard by now, on April 13 & 14, 2013,Kauai’s very own Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School Choir will be representing its island at the 19^th Annual Na Leo Pili Mai Choral Festival on Oahu. This group of fine young singers will be lead by Choir Teacher Julianne Hiu whose hope is to instill the love of music and the arts in her students.

Julianne has been an integral part of the music community here on Kauai for a few years now and I have been fortunate enough to perform with her in several of Kauai’s musical groups. Have I mentioned that she is also an excellent clarinetist? Besides being an educator and a vocalist, Julianne is also a top class musician showing that she has many talents that she offers to her Kauai community.

Last week I had the chance to talk with Julianne and askher a few questions about CKMS Chorus’ trip to the Na Leo Pili Mai Coral Festival.

Lea Salonga In Concert On Kauai

February 26, 2013 at 7:00pm & 9:00pm, the amazing Lea Salonga-Chien will be performing at the Kauai Community College Performing Arts Center. Tickets are selling out FAST! So be sure to get your A.S.A.P.!

Tickets:
$40 adults/$20 students.       

Time:
Feb 26 at 07:00 PM - Feb 26 at 09:00 PM

Location:

3-1901 Kaumualii Highway, Lihue, HI 96766

Event Summary:

Live Concert---***Seats available represent the estimated seating capacity. Please check with venue regarding available seating.*** 

Seats available:

499 (500 total) 

The U.S.P.S. Is A Failure!....Not Really!!

I have this deeply Conservative Republican friend, and once in a while, we like to have discussions/arguments about policies, politics, the state of our country, etc. So this last “discussion” we had, ended up being about the US Post Office.

As you might know, the US Post Office had been in the news again last week because of their announcement of them cutting their Saturday mail delivery services. And because of that, my friend points out how the government cannot run anything properly, AND because of this, we NEED to privatize! Especially the Post Office because it has become such a burden on tax payers.

Tilapia: The Other Whitefish

While shopping for groceries, I happened to come upon the frozen meat section of the grocery store and I noticed a package of whole frozen Tilapia. I then saw that the price was $12 for two medium size fish in the pack! Twelve bucks! You might think, “That sounds just about right.” But I remember a couple of years ago when the same fish was being sold at about $2-$3 for the pack. A whole heck of a lot cheaper than it is being sold today!

Thinking about it some more, I also remembered that when I was a kid, there was kind of a stigma about eating Tilapia. It wasn’t eaten as commonly as it is today. Not too many people really ate Tilapia because at one time was considered dirty or a kind of “rubbish fish” that was found in all reservoirs, ditches, canals, rivers and streams here in Hawaii, especially the stagnant ones where they thrived.

The Hawaii Youth Symphony Performs for Kauai

This past Monday (2/10/13), I was fortunate enough to be a chaperon for the Chiefess Kamakahele Middle School Band classes for their field trip to see the Hawaii Youth Symphony's concert here on Kauai. When Ms. Sarah Tochiki, music director of the CKMS band classes, asked for volunteers, I gladly signed up.

I was super excited to have the chance to see a live orchestra in concert. It's been a while since I've been to one, especially from the audience's side of the stage. I was especially excited for the band kids to see a fine music ensemble like the Hawaii Youth Symphony performing the beautiful music that they, the CKMS kids, had the potential to create.

Let me tell you from experience, that as a young musician, it's really tough to imagine your musical potential without seeing first hand musical instruments being played beautifully and artistically, especially by those who are the same age as you. This was going to be a great thing for the kids to see. The other parents chaperoning with me felt the same as well.

Welcome to my new "Talk Story" Page

Aloha!

My name is Mitch and I am from the laid back island of Kauai in the State of Hawaii. Nothing really special about me. Just a regular Kauai Local who is into all kinds of thing ranging from community service, the performance arts, social media, food and culture, and just plain old "Talking Story", as we say it here in Hawaii.

What is "talking story" as a friend of mine from the mainland once asked me? She thought that I meant that I wanted to tell "once upon a time" fairy tale stories or that I got my grammar mixed up.

Actually,  "Talk story" is a Hawaiian Pidgin term that means to a conversation or discussion. The best example I can think of is it like being in a relaxed environment with your buddies having a cold one and "shooting the breeze" with each other. Sometimes the simple things like just enjoying each other's company and having random conversations can be some of the best things in life. That's why I, lots of folks in Hawaii and probably you as well like "talking story" with people.

As of now, this is a place where we can talk story about various topics ranging from Politics to Food, Culture to the Arts. I like having conversations from the absurd to the relevant. No strict format here. You might even catch me switching back and forth from Pidgin to proper English. I hope that's okay. I prefer sharing ideas in a relaxed way rather than stiff, straight and sterile...

If there is something that you would like me to bring up or take a look at, shoot me message at AlohaBoyKauai@gmail.com. You can also tweet me @alohaboykauai on Twitter!