Lincoln Jacobe believes discovering new things is the spice of life.

"It makes life fun, interesting and exciting," said the chief executive officer of Hawaii Pacific Entertainment, a Hono­lulu-based media, communications and entertainment company. "It keeps our minds active, stimulates our senses and inspires us to learn and grow."

In 2012, Jacobe and his team launched "Discover Our Islands," a series of special events that spotlights local communities, some aspects of which aren’t well known or normally accessible to the public.

Discover Kakaako, the first event in the series, ran monthly from November 2012 until October. "Kaka­ako is one of the fastest-growing communities on Oahu," Jacobe said. "The Discover Kakaako celebrations showcased Kakaako’s wide variety of dining, retail and entertainment options. Crowds came to enjoy live music, fashion shows, Halfy-Hour, which offered 50 percent discounts from participating merchants, and much more."

In November, Turtle Bay Resort was the gathering place for Discover North Shore festivities, which featured a concert headlined by Na Hoku Hanohano award winner Fiji; jewelry, artwork, clothing and other original creations by artists and artisans from the area; and ono (delicious) food prepared from ingredients grown on nearby farms. Tours visited three popular shrimp food trucks in Kahuku.

Everyone is invited to Discover Kualoa in January, February and March. The 4,000-acre ranch comprises three ahupuaa, land divisions extending from the mountains to the sea.

The setting for the Jan. 18 event, Celebrating the Bounty of the Ancient Hawaiian Fishpond, will be lush Hakipuu ahupuaa, whose centerpiece is Molii Loko Ia, one of the state’s largest and best-preserved Hawaiian fishponds. Legend says the mythical Menehune built the 800-year-old, 125-acre fishpond, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, in just one night.

"The focus for the day in Hakipuu will be the bounty of Molii Fishpond and the gardens that surround it," said John Morgan, president of Kualoa. "We’ll be offering talks and demonstrations about fishing and aquaculture, including how the ancient Hawaiians wove fishnets from the fibers of the native olona shrub. Visitors can also tour the gardens where we’re growing pineapple, breadfruit, starfruit, mango, coffee, sugar cane and other tropical crops."

Available only during this event will be a tour of the fishpond, where everything from Samoan crabs to moi (threadfish) thrives, and the oyster farm that occupies about a third of it. Kualoa hopes to begin supplying local restaurants with oysters in the first quarter of this year.

Event highlights also include storytelling; live entertainment; poi-pounding and surfboard-shaping demonstrations; lei making, lau hala weaving and other Hawaiian crafts; and food booths (don’t miss the burgers made from Kualoa beef and fresh shrimp from the ranch’s shrimp farm).

Kaaawa ahupuaa will be the hub of activities for Celebrating the Legacy of Kaaawa on Feb. 15. "Kaaawa Valley is in demand as a location among TV and movie crews because some of the most spectacular pastures and mountains on Oahu are there," Morgan said. "Race producers also love it because of its great trails."

Planned is a 5-kilometer (3-mile) walk that will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters. Also offered only at this event will be a tour providing a close-up look at Kua­loa’s cattle operations and a hike on an easy, scenic trail along the mountains that separate Kaaawa ahupuaa and Kualoa ahupuaa.

In ancient Hawaii the makahiki ran from October through February. Work and warfare were put on hold during that period, and villagers engaged instead in sports, music, dancing, feasting and religious ceremonies.

Kualoa was a locale for those festivities and observances, and, in a nod to the past, attendees can test their skills and wits with makahiki games such as konane (checkers), ulu maika (disc rolling), moa pahee (dart sliding) and oo ihe (spear throwing).

On March 15 Discover Kualoa’s theme will be Celebrating the Story of Kualoa Through Song and Dance in Kualoa ahupuaa, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

"Long ago Kualoa was known as a place where prized whale bone ivory washed up on shore," Morgan said. "The Hawaiians made lei niho palaoa out of the ivory, and only the alii (royalty) wore those lei. That’s one of the reasons why Kualoa is considered the most sacred of our ahupuaa. It was also where children of the alii were trained in the arts, cultural traditions and methods of combat, including lua, a form of martial arts."

Music and hula from old Hawaii to modern times will be performed throughout the day in lovely Paliku Gardens and the Wahi Pana (celebrated place) next to it.

A hike, available only for this event, will go through the Wahi Pana to a lookout that reveals a breathtaking panorama encompassing Kaneohe Bay, Mokolii islet (Chinaman’s Hat) and all of Molii Fishpond.

Morgan is looking forward to welcoming visitors to the three Discover Kualoa events. "Much of Kualoa remains just as it was in ancient times," he said. "Whether you come to see its stunning natural beauty, to learn about its history or to enjoy outdoor activities such as hikes, trail rides and catamaran rides, it’s the real Hawaii — a wonderful place to discover."

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Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.