B on Hawaii

Roller Derby is back! On the heels of Drew Barrymore's feature film, Whip It, and a resurgence in all-things-retro, womens roller derby season hit Honolulu hard on March 6th at the outdoor roller hockey rink at Kamiloiki Community Park at the corner of Hawaii Kai Drive and Lunalillo Home Road. The event is free to the public, although donations are greatly appreciated.

Once in a great while you'll catch wind of a truly fascinating story. As a journalist, I often hope it's one that's both true, and one I can track down the characters of. The story you're about to read came to us through a screening of the film Surfwise, at the Maui Film Festival a few years back.

Nobu enthusiasts rejoice: The man himself will be on O`ahu from February 9 – 12, 2010, to eat, drink and prepare his signature fare just for you. The global restaurateur will also work closely with MA`O Organic Farms to design an omakase menu inspired by the harvest of produce from the Waianae-based outfit.

On January 30th and 31st, The Mind Body & Spirit Exposition folk will host the Total Wellness Expo on the island of Kauai. The event, sponsored by Inspiration Wellness Journal, will feature Mater Zhi Gang Sha as the keynote speaker—a title that went to Deepak Chopra last year.

Fortunate to have a very loyal (and vocal!) readership base in Southern California, we at B on Hawaii are happy to share some aloha headed east from the islands. On January 24, at 2:00 p.m., the 3rd Annual SoCal Slack Key Festival will take place at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.

Those that have been following the developments at Kapalua know that here, in one of the most spectacular locales on Maui (and the entire island chain), things have been evolving for the better part of two years.

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.

Colin Hazama, chef de cuisine of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Kaua`i Grill at the newly unveiled St. Regis Princeville may be the most fortunate 28-year-old chef in America. We sat down with Hazama at a table hovering over Hanalei Bay, just days before he was set to open the pinnacle restaurant at what is being hailed at Hawaii's most luxurious resort.

If you're anything like us, you love the melding of cultures here in Hawai`i as much as the wild flavors of cuisine that have come from them. But let's face it: Every now and again you crave good 'ole slow-smoked Southern BBQ. Sweet Home Waimanalo is scratching that itch, o'er yonder on the east shore of O`ahu.

When Dana Roberts launched her Malie Organics line of spa products, she was looking to share the healing properties of botanical elements found throughout Hawai`i with those who would appreciate them most. She found a symbiotic partnership at Halele'a Spa in the St. Regis Princeville, where, as far as she knows, they are the only spa in the world to use taro for body treatments.