ISLAND HOPPING
Cruises celebrate whales’ return
The Pacific Whale Foundation will mark the return of humpback whales to Maui with "Welcome Home the Whales" Celebration Cruises on Saturday.
The cruises depart from Maalaea Harbor and Lahaina Harbor at 9 and 11:30 a.m.
The price is $24.95 for adults and $17.95 for children ages 7 to 12. Kids ages 6 and under are free (one child per adult).
Those who book online at www.pacificwhale.org will save 10 percent. Pacific Whale Foundation members will save 20 percent.
For more information or to reserve by phone, call 249-8811, ext. 1.
Event benefits historical society
The Maui Historical Society and friends will hold their 11th annual fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of Bailey House Museum in Wailuku.
The event will feature music, arts and crafts vendors, free museum admission, food booths and a silent auction.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the event. Children under 12 are admitted free. Tickets are available at the museum at 2375-A Main St. in Wailuku, or call 244-3326 or email baileyhousemuseum@clearwire.net.
GLOBE TROTTING
Michigan State art museum opens
EAST LANSING, Mich. » A $40 million Zaha Hadid-designed art museum has opened its doors — and some eyes — on the campus of Michigan State University.
The futuristic-looking Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum features a facade of pleated stainless steel and glass, a look that distinguishes it from the traditional brick buildings that surround it on the East Lansing campus.
The museum will present international contemporary art, using a 7,500-piece historic collection it inherited from the Kresge Art Museum to provide context for the contemporary works.
Los Angeles billionaire and Michigan State graduate Eli Broad and his wife have given $28 million to the museum, which he calls "an architectural masterpiece."
Flights feature ‘Lord of the Rings’
Los Angeles » Those Kiwis at Air New Zealand Ltd. are at it again.
In the past they have produced airplane safety videos featuring nude flight attendants, fitness guru Richard Simmons and a plane full of rugby players.
Air New Zealand has unveiled a new video starring the characters — hobbits, wizards, elves, dwarfs and orcs — from the "Lord of the Rings" movies, which relied on New Zealand for most of the outdoor scenes.
The video even includes a quick appearance by the films’ director, Peter Jackson. On the flight to Middle-Earth, he vanishes after slipping on the ring of power.
