Frog Blog

Famous for always being held the day before Mother’s Day, Upcountry’s Seabury Hall Annual Craft Fair went off without a hitch today. There was a slight drizzle of moisture that arrived late in the afternoon, but for most everyone, it was a welcome cool-down.

The music was great, with Marty Dread getting people to dance and have fun. There were countless booths with crafts of all kinds (great for the last minute Mother’s Day shoppers!) They also had delicious food and fun for the Keikis. 2 large slip-n-slides were set up as well as multiple jumping castles. The kids also loved the face painting available.

As for the Maui artists, we had dozens of great artists from every discipline. Everyone was friendly and enjoying the vibe as people from all over the island, and mainland visitors, met up to talk story and check out the goods. There was also a few Maui art galleries showing and selling paintings, prints, and maps like Maui Giclee.

The classic car show was ALL TIME!  Collectors pulled out some old cherry vehicles that don’t see sunlight very much.  These beauties made us all a little more than envious.
Today was a great day with a very strong turn out at the crafts fair. The only regret I have is not having shown up earlier. There was too much to do and see for the few hours I attended. Next year we’ll do it differently with a full day of fun!
See you then!

OK, I know this is a Maui Blog, but this review of the Big Island of Hawaii is really great and should be shared.  One of our Maui editors island-hopped to the Big Island for a day with some powerful photos and exciting experiences.  We hope you enjoy Kristine’s review below!

“My husband and I had attended the Big Island Grand Volcano Tour with Discover Hawaii Tours last weekend [Booked at the best price with Boss Frog’s at (808) 661-3333.] We wanted to express how much fun we had on this tour.

Upon arriving in Hilo, we headed to the designated location to meet up with our tour guide John.  All 11 of us were put on a mini coach bus. I loved the fact that it was a smaller bus and a small crowd.

Our first stop was at Big Island Candy Factory. I don’t think it was part of the Itinery, but the driver wanted to make sure we started the day off right.  Inside, we got to try numerous samples of candies and cookies; along with a glass viewing section of how the chocolate is made. 

We made our way down through Banyan Drive and Liliuokalani Gardens. You’ll find bridges, fishponds, a lovely gazebo and beautiful statues throughout Liliuokalani Gardens.

We then headed to see Historic Hilo Town. This is when the rain started. It didn’t bother us one bit. We kind of expected it to rain in Hilo. We enjoyed walking around town and going to the Farmers Market. At the Farmers Market, you can get almost any type of fresh fruit, vegetable, or flowers for very reasonable prices. We stopped at a local stand and tried a few sweet rolls.

After seeing the Historic Town of Hilo, we headed to Rainbow Falls. This was an amazing waterfall. We spent about 15 minutes at the waterfall taking pictures and enjoying the view.

We continued on to Volcano National Park. Inside the park we made numerous stops. We viewed the Kilauea Iki Crater , Thurston Lava Tube (one of my favorite spots), Kilauea Caldera & Halemaumau Pit Crater, Jagger Museum, and rainforests. Throughout the drive we could see numerous blowing steam vents. We did pull over to check one out. Very cool.

Afterwards, we headed to lunch. We ate at a restaurant called “Legends Bar & Grill”. They have awesome burgers. Service was great and the people are very friendly.

We continued our drive towards the viewing of active lava flows. Along the way, we stopped off at a black sand beach. Most of the beach area is covered with lava.  We hiked on a designated trial about 5 minutes through the existing lava fields to get to the Black Sand Beach. It’s quite the sight to see. We wanted to explore more, but it decided to rain during the time we had just made it to the beach.

Back on the bus and ready to see some active lava flows. We waited a few minutes on the bus to let the rain pass. Only because our next stop was in the same direction the rain was headed. 

After leaving the Black Sand Beach, we drove a few minutes to the entrance of where the vehicles can proceed down the road to see the lava flows. We were in a Mini Coach bus and that was too big to take on the road. So we all transferred into a Mini Van that they had waiting for us. It was a about a 5 minute ride in the van to get to the drop off spot. The roads are narrow and bumpy.

We had about an hour to walk around before meeting back at the van. We proceeded down one of the two paths. We first chose to walk the path that led towards the ocean. We were not able to make it all the way down to the ocean. They had a section roped off for viewing & picture taking.  All we could see was the big plume of smoke about 3/4 mile away. It was behind some rock/cliff formations. We were too far way to see any active lava.  We then took the other path that led down a road. I was hoping to get a better view. We walked about 5 minutes down the road and we came to a dead end.

The dead end was a recent lava flow that had happened 4 weeks prior to our visit and had covered the road. We were able to walk on the lava in certain sections. Some sections of the lava were still soft and too dangerous to walk on. I wasn’t able to see that plume of smoke that we saw from the other location. There were tons of tall trees blocking our view. Even though we didn’t get to see any active lava, seeing the recent lava and walking on it was pretty neat.

This was the last activity on the tour. We got back on the Mini Coach Bus and headed to the airport.  We had a short 30-minute bus ride back to the airport.

We thanked our tour guide for showing us a wonderful time around the Island. He did a great job! Very friendly and knowledgeable with everything. We had a great time with Discover Hawaii Tours and we will definitely be back!”

To book the most discounted rates with Discover Hawaii Tours, call (808) 661-3333.  

Last night a large crowd of music lovers eagerly awaited the performance of Hip Hop artist Lauryn Hill at the MACC (Maui Arts and Cultural Center.)  The Big Island’s Pepper opened for the eight time Grammy winner for Bob Fest 2007.

As far as venues go, the MACC is rarely paralleled.  This open-air forum holds views of the sun setting through the high clouds of the West Maui Mountains.  It often surprises residents when big names decide to play here due to the MACC’s inability to accomodate large audiences.  When a big name like Lauryn Hill does play here, it’s truly a treat for those able to attend this small venue.

Among many artists to open was Pepper.  From Kona, Hawai’i, these three alternative musicians made our neighbors on the Big Island proud.  Their unique sound pulls from punk, reggae, ska, and rock n’ roll.  Judging by their enthusiastic applause and committed lyrics, the crowd confidently chose Pepper as their favorites of the night.  Pepper’s standout performance made fans out of the most unlikely audience members.  We’ll all be seeing much more of these three talented young men in the future.

The anticipation for our headliner was enormous. Once the fast paced singing/raping from Lauryn Hill’s soulful voice began booming through the warm Maui air, the entire crowd began to dance.  Though after playing Oahu then the Big Island in succession, her voice had been stretched past it’s limits.  It seems that the sound system on the Big Island was poor, and she had to make up for it by pushing her voice harder than what was regularly necessary.  Unfortunately, this made for a raspier and less beautiful singing from this incredible artist.  This came not from a lack of trying; I’ve never seen a singer push so hard to give an audience what they wanted.  If it had been anyone else, the performance would have been stunning.  It’s a shame that most of us know what she’s normally capable of.

All in all, the Bob Fest show was a success.  Big names or small, any show at the MACC really shouldn’t be missed.

Go to MauiArts.org for future show times.

     The Taste of Lahaina, Maui’s largest epicurean festival, celebrates 15 years of food, music and fun this year. Come visit at Lahaina Recreation Park II, just off of Highway 30 behind the Lahaina Aquatic Center. The party starts Friday from 5PM to 10PM and Saturday from 4PM to 10PM.

     Over 25 local restaurants will be represented, serving up some of their favorite dishes in competition to be named best of Lahaina. Some of the dishes to look for include CJ’s Machico chicken, Leilani’s crusted island fish and Sansei’s spicy tuna nachos.

     Friday night Pito Xavier, Ekolu, Makaha Sons and Henry Kapono will be on hand to entertain. Saturday’s performers include Makana, Crazy Fingers, Conscious Healing and Willie K.

      Come on out and enjoy yourself in Lahaina with plenty of food, music, drinks and fun!

     For anyone looking for something fun to do this weekend, consider the Maui Onion Festival at Whaler’s Village in Ka’anapali this weekend. The two day event will feature Maui onion creations from Compadre’s Bar and Grill and The Rusty Harpoon along with many other local restaurants competing for the best Maui Onion recipe. Magician Kenn Serrano will be performing magic and juggling along with the Drums of Tahiti Polynesian Hula for your entertainment. If you are a big eater, maybe you would like to try your hand at the Maui onion eating contest.

17th Annual Maui Onion Festival

At Whaler’s Village in Ka’anapali

Saturday 11AM to 4PM

Sunday 11AM to 4PM