John Heckathorn has the best journalism job in the state. The editor of Hawaii Magazine gets to fly around the islands and, well, just do stuff. Here's a slide show of pix his photog took from a recent jaunt to…

Here's a taste for the hula fans. This is footage of Halau I Ka Wekiu (Kahiko Kane), Merrie Monarch 2007, a first-place performance. The contest starts later this week. Catch all the footage streaming on KITV .…

Aloha Airlines' unexpected shutdown has certainly made this year's Merrie Monarch more exciting (in a bad way) than most had anticipated. Attendees are scrambling to ensure that they can still fly to Hilo for the fest. Halau (most of which…

Each November on the Big Island, the Kona Coffee Festival kicks off with a jolt -- hee hee. The festival is all about the world class Joe that the sunny side of the Big Island puts out. Big Island Kona…

Update: Hulihee Palace suffered considerable damage in the 2006 Earthquake centered off the Big Island. Tours of the palace are offered on a limited basis due to this damage and reconstruction work may be underway in the near future. This…

In the May 2007 edition, senior editor Steve Millburg gives a quick taste of a hike I've long wanted to take, circling the rim of Waipio Valley, a lush, massive valley on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island. I've…

But they mean it in a nice way. Ian Lind pointed out this Chicago Tribune piece covering the rainy (well, not as much as you think), sleepy burg on the eastern side of the Big Island. The article compares…

Here's a roundup of cool blogs / articles on the festival, which is the World Series of Hula. Wanda Adams at the Honolulu Advertiser has some great information on the topic on her blog. The Advertiser also has done a…

Anyone who's been to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, on the Big Island, understands what its like to walk on Earth so new its still smoking. Literally. Madame Pele, the volcano goddess, is everpresent and the eery quiet of this isolated…

The Merrie Monarch Festival is the Superbowl of hula competitions and its serious business in Hawaii. Halau practice for years to prepare for a trip to Hilo and the precision and grace of the top acts is truly breathtaking.…

Here's a fascinating article about the history of the anchialine pond's on the Big Island's Kona-Kohala Coast and one man's quest to revive them. These landlocked brackish ponds are linked to the ocean through volcanic tubes. Such natural ponds were…

I stumbled upon this gallery in the massive resort in Waikoloa on the Kona-Kohala Coast of the Big Island when I was visiting this past weekend. It's packed with art, some of it cheesy but a lot of it…