THURSDAY

>> Show celebrates culture of Okinawan locals

The ties that bind can be long and last a long time. So it is with the people of Ginoza, a village of about 6,000 people in Okinawa.

The town sent its mayor and performing artists here in 2016 to celebrate the 70th year of its founding with local descendants. On Saturday, another 90 or so entertainers return to the Hawaii Okinawa Center to provide a bit of the home culture.

“Okinawa is their home land, and they don’t want people from Okinawa to forget where they came from,” said Vince Watabu, former president of the Hawaii Okinawa Center. “A lot of people here are now interested in finding their roots in Okinawa, and more interesting than that is that there are a lot of people there who are trying to find their relatives outside of Okinawa.”

The show will feature traditional dances, unique to specific districts of Ginoza, that have been handed down from generation to generation.

“They have these community centers and the people dance, and the young people are waiting for their turn,” Watabu said. “People think about the dance, but there’s dress, there’s makeup. There’s a whole bunch of stuff they have to learn.”

THURSDAY-NOV. 30

>> Funny man Kevin Hart is back at the Blaisdell Arena

From comedy clubs to huge arenas, from TV to movie screens, Kevin Hart is everywhere these days, and now he’s coming back to Hawaii.

The small-in-size but big-in-energy comedian from Philadelphia recently starred with Tiffany Haddish in the feature film “Night School.”

He is nearing the end of his Irresponsible Tour, which has taken him to more than 100 cities around the world in the last year and a half, with scores of them selling out.

(Both of his two arena shows are nearly sold out, but as of press time there are still single tickets available.)

Hart performed in Hawaii in 2011 and 2016, and has another Hawaii connection with his appearance in “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.” Locals, however, might find the funniest thing he’s done in Hawaii is awkwardly surfing at Waikiki and shouting himself out: “You saw it, people! I’m an athlete – kinda, sorta, with help!”

(Actually, he is a pretty good athlete, have played basketball for his high school team and now hanging out with Lebron James and other NBA stars.)

THURSDAY-DEC. 2

>> Soul band Tower of Power takes the stage at Blue Note Hawaii

Tower of Power, the classic brass, soul and funk band, returns to Hawaii on its 50th anniversary celebration tour next week.

During the late 1960s and 1970s, when most people associated the California sound with either the singer-songwriters of Southern California or the acid-rock groups of San Francisco, Tower of Power held its own with its bright, danceable music, developed in, of all places, Oakland, then (and alas, still) considered the poor stepchild to San Francisco.

Its hit song “What is Hip?” questioned some of the trends of the day – more importantly, it provided an energy that was unmistakeably and simply fun.

Tower of Power’s tight brass section was always its hallmark, and artists ranging from Otis Redding to Bonnie Raitt to Paula Abdul to Huey Lewis and the News enlisted the band to provide backing on recordings.

Led by cofounders and saxophonists Emilia Castillo and Stephen Kupka, Tower of Power has produced 17 studio albums over the years, but just this year had its first No. 1 album, “Soul Side of Town,” which topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz and Jazz charts.

The album “affirms the trademarks of the meticulous 10-piece ensemble: a razor-sharp horn section of distinctive saxophone drama, versatile lead vocalists, song titles demanding the listener join in the fun and just enough variety to avoid predictability,” wrote Downbeat.com in a review.

For its 50th anniversary, the group is offering a special VIP package. Check bluenotehawaii.com for details.

THURSDAY

>> Hawaiian Brian’s hosts Cocoa Tea

Cocoa Tea brings his uptempo, socially conscious reggae tunes to Hawaiian Brian’s.

Born Calvin Scott in Jamaica, Cocoa Tea worked a variety of odd jobs during his teen years, including horse-racing jockey and fisherman, while learning about music in Jamaica’s dancehall scene, revved up by the mobile sound systems of musicians, technicians and electronic equipment that brought music to the streets and impromptu nightclubs.

His sweet-sounding voice and clever lyrics eventually made him one of dancehall’s most popular proponents, with hits like the romantic “Lost My Sonia” and “Rocking Dolly.”

Cocoa began to get overseas success in the mid-1980s, with his 1991 hit “Rikers Island” expressing disappointment over the fate of Jamaican emigres who wound up in the New York City jail. He delved into politics with a song inspired by the Persian Gulf War, “Oil Ting,” banned in Jamaica for its sharp-edged commentary, which became a hit in the U.S. He followed that up “No War for Oil,” “What’s Gonna Happen After The War,” and ”Ruling Cowboy.”

And as Barack Obama campaigned for president, Cocoa wrote a song named for him.