Paradise Ride Kauai 2010
Paradise Ride Kauai is an amazing 2-day bicycle ride through breathtaking scenery on the island of Kauai. It’s a fully supported ride (not a race) along the ocean, through valleys, local neighborhoods, and open countryside of the Garden Island. Each day the route averages 55 miles, but new this year will be the option to choose your own distance to accommodate all types of cyclists.
This fundraising ride is hosted by non-profit Malama Pono Health Services to educate and support those dealing with HIV, AIDS, STDs, and infectious Hepatitis. Paradise Ride Kauai is an important source of funding and helps provide services and programs for clients and families.
One of the many things that makes this ride such a unique and special ride is the incredible beauty, breathtaking views, and culturally significant destinations you will experience on this island. The route has been designed to be challenging but achievable, and rest stops are placed along the route that are stocked with food, water, energy bars, restrooms, all staffed by our incredible rest stop volunteers. The entire route is supported by bike mechanics, medical assistants, and route angels who provide additional awareness for you and others sharing the route and guiding you along the way.
Kauai Open Space
Your opinion will be heard by participating in an survey of the Open Space Commission asking which lands you would like to see the county acquire for public use. In 2002, Kauai voters approved an amendment that established the “Public Access, Open Space, Natural Resources Preservation Fund” and stipulated that each year a minimum of one half of one percent of the County’s certified real property taxes would be deposited into the fund.
Kauai residents can visit Open Space to take the online survey and share their list of public accesses and special places that should be protected or acquired. Surveys can also be picked up at the Planning Department, 4444 Rice St., suite 473, Lihu‘e, or at public libraries, and county recreation centers. The commission then analyzes each suggestion, reviews past suggestions, and formulates a list of priority projects.
Lands that qualify for purchase, acquisition or property entitlement must meet at least one of these purposes:
- Public outdoor recreation and education, including access to beaches and mountains
- Preservation of historic or culturally important land areas and sites
- Protection of significant habitats or ecosystems, including buffer zones
- Preserving forests, beaches, coastal areas, and agricultural lands
- Protecting watershed lands to preserve water quality and water supply
- Conserving land in order to reduce erosion, floods, landslides, and runoff
- Acquiring or improving disabled and public access to, and enjoyment of, public land and open space
The council recently approved the acquisition of a piece of land to expand Black Pot Park in Hanalei, using $1.85 million from the Open Space fund. The state Legacy Lands Acquisition Fund gave an extra $800,000, and a special trust fund for parks and playgrounds gave $350,000 to go toward the land purchase.
Kauai Bon Dances
A Bon Dance is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of family members that have passed away, and has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years. On Kauai in the summer there are many chances for you to experience one in person. The festivals serve as both a ceremony of spiritual remembrance and a celebration of cultural heritage and community. According to tradition, it is believed the summer months are when ancestral spirits return to visit family and friends.
The dance is held at night and differs slightly depending on the Mission but generally involves people circling around a high wooden yagura. The appropriate way to welcome the ancestors’ souls is to play happy music and create a feeling of happiness. The festivals are also known for their array of Japanese foods for sale – andagi (sweet fried dough), grilled teri-beef and chicken skewers, musubi (rice balls wrapped in dried seaweed), and stir-fry noodles. Everyone is welcome regardless of religious background, ethnicity, or even dancing abilities. Visit our Kauai Events Calendar for weekend Bon Dances during the summer at these locations:
Koloa Jodo Mission
Hanapepe Hongwanji Mission
Lihue Hongwanji Mission
Waimea Shingon Mission
Kapaa Jodo Mission
West Kauai Hongwanji Mission
Kapaa Hongwanji Mission
Waimea Higashi Hongwanji
Koloa Hongwanji Mission
Hawaii Healing Garden Festival 2010
The Hawaii Healing Garden Festival will take place June 19 to 22 on the garden island of Kauai. Get inspired by traditional cultural healing arts, zero-waste events, agricultural sustainability, edible and medicinal lei contests, all-local meal contest, eco-fashion, live music, cooking demos, organic gardening, medicinal plants, and energy sustainability. Get immersed in health with cultural practitioners, dietitians, ethnobotanists, presenters, teachers, herbalists, and chefs. Sign up for farm tours, workshops, and cooking classes. The opening day of the festival will be held at Kilohana Plantation in Lihue. This health and green festival will provide the opportunity to enjoy a dynamic series of multicultural events which will continue on to the Big Island in July, and Oahu in Sept.
Saturday, June 19
9:50 – Opening Blessing
10:00 – Super-foods in the Prevention of Cancer & Heart Disease
10:00 – Cross-Cultural Intergenerational Sustainability Panel
10:00-6:00 – Hawaii Health Guide Expo
11:00 – Healing Herbs of the Philippines
11:00 – Kauai’s Farming Future
11:00-4:00 – Cooking Demos
11:00-4:00 – Van-Go Art
12:00 – Traditions of Hawaiian Lomi Lomi Massage
1:00 – Eco Fashion Show
2:00 – Hawaiian Herbal Medicine: Where Science Meets Shamanism
2:15 – Where’s Mom? Performance
2:00-6:00 – Wine Tasting
4:00-6:00 – Music: Millicent Cummings & Darby Slick, Elijah’s Band of Light
Sunday, June 20
10:00-12:30 – Underwater Jujitsu Intro Course
1:30-4:00 – Medicine at Your Feet, Healng Plants of the Hawaiian Kingdom
2:00-5:00 – Women’s Domestic Safety & Self Defense Course
Monday, June 21
9:00-11:00 – Partner Yoga Class with Katie Fisher
5:30-7:30 – Healthy Business Roundtable
Tuesday, June 22
6:00-8:00 – Mantras for Earth Harmony
You can find more details and a full schedule at Hawaii Healing Garden.
Kauai Book Taylor Camp
Taylor Camp is a book that reminds us of one period in time when all things were possible. It is the story of what really happened when a group of hippies, anti-war activists, surfers, and troubled Vietnam vets formed a clothing-optional, drug-friendly tree house village at the end of the road on the North Shore of Kauai.
In 1969 the brother of Elizabeth Taylor bailed out a rag-tag band of thirteen young mainlanders jailed on Kauai for vagrancy and invited them to camp on his oceanfront land, then left them on their own, without any restrictions, regulations, or supervision. Soon waves of hippies, refugees from campus riots, war protesters, and Vietnam vets found their way to the North Shore to expand this tree house village. In 1971 John Wehrheim began seriously photographing Taylor Camp as a settlement of refugees living next to a crystalline stream in a tropical forest along a beach in paradise. In 1977, after condemning the village to make way for a State Park, government officials torched the camp, leaving little but ashes and memories of the ‘best days of our lives’.
Thirty years later John tracked down and interviewed these residents, their neighbors, and the government officials who finally got rid of them and created this book Taylor Camp
Kauai Recycling and HI5
Almost one billion beverage containers are sold each year in Hawai’i. We can help by recycling as many of these containers as possible. If not, they will often be discarded as waste or litter in our community. The HI-5 Recycling Program acts as an incentive by refunding 5¢ for each container returned to a redemption center in – Hanalei, Kilauea, Lihue, Kapahi, Nawiliwili, Koloa, Lawai, or Kekaha.
How to Prepare HI-5 Containers:
- Look for containers labeled: HI 5¢, HAWAII 5¢, Hawaii 5¢.
- Empty containers of liquid, food, or trash.
- Remove caps from all bottles.
- Sort by material type – plastic, glass, aluminum, and bi-metal
- Aluminum and plastic may be crushed (except at reverse vending machines).
If we all participate in the HI-5 Recycling Program:
- We can save resources and energy.
- We can reduce litter and trash in our ‘āina.
- We can prolong the life of our landfills.
- We can raise money for schools or groups.
- We can reduce pollution and protect our parks and beaches.
- We can protect wildlife and their natural habitats.
For more information, visit the county’s Kauai recycling website.
