http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium RSS Feed for Hawaii's Backyard Premium en-us Sun, 20 May 2012 11:30:00 GMT http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120520_at_hana_fresh_health_and_nutrition_step_forward.html ASK Cheryl Vasconcellos what she most enjoys about her job as the executive director of Hana Health, and there's no doubt pruning, planting and harvesting will be on her list. That's because in addition to her administrative, financial, personnel, marketing, public relations and strategic planning responsibilities for East Maui's only medical facility, she loves to work in the fields of Hana Fresh, its 7-acre certified organic farm. http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120513__Ukulele_gathering_evokes_spirit_of_Molokai.html While on an all-day hike deep in Molokai's Halawa Valley five years ago, the popular Hawaiian folk singer and musician known simply as Lono ran across a friend, Lawrence Aki, who was guiding a group of visitors on the trail. http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120506__Puna_festivaltaps_musical_energy.html After seeing dramatic news coverage of the 1990 lava flow that destroyed most of the town of Kala­pana in Hawaii island's Puna district, Wai­lana Simcock felt compelled to go there. Then 16 years old and living on Oahu, he was mesmerized by that undeniable display of nature's power. http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120429_Adventure_awaits_on_Munro_Trail.html Even before Lanai Grand Adventures guide Cody Bradford hits the Munro Trail with a group, the clouds captivate him. http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120422__Conference_serves_up_a_hula_buffet.html When Marnie Weeks first came to Hawaii as a 14-year-old visitor in 1961, Hawaiian music and hula in Waikiki were as ubiquitous as palm trees. Entranced, she bought several Hawaiian music records and took them home to Michigan with her. http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120415_Steel_guitar_virtuoso_headlines_celebration.html During the dark days of World War II, weekend jam sessions were bright times for Henry Kaleialoha Allen's family. Friends and relatives would pack their Manoa home to eat, "talk story," sing and play music until the wee hours of the morning, including Albert Merseburgh, Allen's uncle, who was a renowned steel guitar artist. http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120408_hootenanny_at_hoomaluhia.html A few of us were jamming around the campfire around 2 a.m. We’d been at it for hours, and it seemed we had played every song that we knew. I expected we’d all be headed to our tents fairly soon. http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120408_master_bill_monroe_and_the_down-home_music_of_appalachia.html Bluegrass traces its roots to the traditional ballads and lively jigs and reels of English, Scottish and Irish immigrants who settled in the rural Appalachia area of the United States (southern New York to northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia) in the 18th century. Influenced by African-American blues and jazz, it is played on acoustic (unamplified) string instruments, including the fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin and upright bass. Musicians take turns playing and improvising the melody, while the rest of the group provides accompaniment. http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120401__Waialuas_wonders.html Waialua residents will be the first to admit their town is not a happening place; the biggest event of the week might be an exhibit of local art at the public library. But that's precisely why Kyoko Johnson and her husband, Tor, decided to live and work there. http://www.staradvertiser.com/travelpremium/hawaiisbackyardpremium/20120325__Cultural_adviser_aims_to_help_everyone_live_aloha.html Clifford Naeole's life-changing story begins in the kalo loi (taro patches) of his paternal grandfather, whom he lovingly nicknamed "Granddaddy Mauka."