B on Hawaii

Four Seasons doesn't let much time slip by without a major renovation or improvement to one of their deluxe Hawaii properties. This week, it's the Hualalai locale that announces the completion of a 15-month, $40 million face lift.

On Saturday, March 6, the 10th Annual Great Waikoloa `Ukulele Festival will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Held at Queens' Marketplace on the Big Island of Hawai`i, the event will feature legendary "Ambassador of Aloha" Danny Kaleikini as Master of Ceremonies.

While it may be a tad early to start thinking about your plans for Valentine's Day, consider this: In the Ka`u district of Hawai`i's Big Island, certified permaculturist and beekeeper Alison Yahna is offering a 5-day crash course in beekeeping, and you're invited.

In the midst of next week's Kona Coffee Cultural Festival on the Island of Hawai`i, three special seminars will be given by the State of Hawai`i's leading coffee expert, Dr. Shawn Steiman. Open to all, his seminars at three premiere coffee houses in the Kailua-Kona area will demonstrate the ins and outs of brewing the best coffee. On Tuesday, November 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival kicks off this year on Friday, November 6, with events stretching through November 15th. Festival organizers seem to be taking advantage of the "cultural" aspect of the festival this go-around, to spotlight a number of unique offerings in and surrounding the Kona location, on Hawai`i's Big Island.

We recently fielded a request from a production company that needs help finding adventure-seeking outdoorsmen (and women) who would like to be featured on an episode of Mantracker, to air nationally on the Discovery Science channel. The show is filmed in a variety of picturesque locales, and will be coming to The Big Island of Hawai`i this winter to film in an undisclosed location.

We’ve got world-class dining; our beaches are among the most pristine on the planet; and we have a blend of cultures you can’t find anywhere else on the globe. But how many of you realize that we’ve also got the number one locale on earth to view and document the heavens? Well, we do. Soon, we’ll add the world’s largest telescope to that locale.

Times are, well, what they are. Which is why we feel obligated to pass along any stories that might lead to the fattening of your wallet, instead lieu of lightening it. The kind and charitable folks

On a late Spring day at the Kahala Mall, multiple Grammy Award-winning music producer Daniel Ho took the stage with ukulele in hand. He performed a few tunes to passers-by, grabbed his things, and walked down to the movie theaters still inside the mall.

One of the most tranquil resorts that evokes feeling of "Old Hawaii" is the Kona Village Resort, on the Kohala Coast of the Island of Hawai'i. To encourage travelers to unwind far from the blinking lights of cell phones, computers and televisions, Kona Village is offering a hefty deal: An $800 airfare credit to those who book a higher-class room category for five nights or more.