Other Hawaiian Resources

There are a plethora of resources out there on the web that we use quite often in gathering information about Hawai`i.

One of our favorites is this site we stumbled upon earlier this year: Hilo Living www.hiloliving.com

A family relocated from the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley to sleepy Hilo town and document the changes in their new daily lives. The site also links to two different blogs, includes news updates, picture galleries and a calendar of events going on in the Hilo area.

Staying on Hilo, worth checking out is the newly re-styled www.downtownhilo.com. The site offers insightful information into the town's history, attractions and also features a community discussion area where people chat about their recent trips.

The Big Island Weekly is the Big Island's weekly, free alternative paper. It covers issues such as local politics, environmental concerns, upcoming art exhibits, the island music scene and includes a thorough calendar of the week's events across the Big Island.

On a more local front, the Northwest Hawai`i Times is the on-line version of the free monthly paper. It tends to be a month or so behind so we usually pick up the paper at one of the drop locations (Delite Bakery on Beacon Hill, Uwajimaya, Hawai`i General Store, Northshore Hawaiian Barbeque are a few places we've found copies). However, this is a great option when you want to find something in the archives, like that recipe for Okinawan sweep potato pie!

The NW Hawn Calendar is a yahoo mailing list, groups.yahoo.com/group/nwhawncalendar with over 300 members. This is a must if you want to find out about all the Hawaiian music events that go on in the Northwest area. This list has fairly high traffic with two or three messages a day, largely centered around music and hula.

Another great source for Hawaiian music and hula is Pacific Mele. In addition to listing concert dates, the site features interviews with the artists and links to their own web sites.

Local retailers also sometimes offer special events or workshops, such as the Hawai`i General Store in Wallingford or Island Life in SoDo. Both are terrific places to shop for Hawaiiana and island-inspired decor, and are staffed by knowledgable kanaka full of aloha! The Hawai`i General Store also houses a travel agency, specializing in trips to the islands and partnered with Hawaiian Airlines. Several of our wedding guests used this service and were quite impressed with the competitive fares, helpful tips and friendly service.

These are just a few, and we'll post more as we stumble across them. So, hele on, warm up those browsers and show your kokua!