UPCOMING: Stoke, Banyan Drive Art, Albatross
Volcano Art Center presents “Stoke” at 7 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 10) at its Ni‘aulani Campus in Volcano Village.
“Stoke” follows Jane, a struggling tourist who hires two wannabe tour guides to take her to an active volcano. A year after the sudden death of her fiance, Los Angeles litigator Jane is stuck, unable to let go and move forward. Searching for clarity and closure, she makes a spontaneous trip to the Big Island to visit an active volcano.
Upon arrival, Jane enlists the help of Dusty and Po, two people pretending to operate an adventure tour company. As the trio drive around the island en route to the volcano, an unexpected detour takes the group in a new direction as the story explores love, loss and lava.
The 90-minute narrative feature film was shot on Hawaii Island in 2017; it is rated R for language and brief nudity.
The directors will be in attendance Thursday night for a brief Q&A.
“Stoke” is the fourth film from Larkin Pictures, an award-winning production company located on Hawaii island. Shot in February 2017, the film is currently playing at film festivals and premiered at the Hawaii International Film Festival.
The VAC Ni‘aulani Campus is located at 19-4074 Old Volcano Road in Volcano.
The third annual Banyan Drive Art Stroll is slated for noon-6 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 12) and features exhibits, awards, prizes, entertainment and activities throughout the Banyan Drive area.
A judged art exhibit will be available for viewing, and strollers can vote for People’s Choice in the Palm Room at the Grand Naniloa Resort. Judge Emily Catey Weiss of the Volcano Art Center will be on hand to present awards for first-place selection Jared Goodwin’s “Mokuola Sunset,” second-place “Red Bridge” by Bonnie Sol Hahn and third-place selection “Good Morning” by Jay Takaaze, with honorable mention to Stephen Davies for his “Just Walking the Dog.”
The People’s Choice award will be presented after the event when votes are counted.
A photography exhibit is planned at Hilo Bay Cafe, which also will include voting for People’s Choice. The grand prize will be presented at 2 p.m. by Paradise Helicopters to Takaaze, whose image “Morning Moon” was selected for the cover of the 2019 Friends of Lili‘uokalani Gardens calendar.
Judge for the calendar was Mary Goodrich.
Artists at work are a featured item of the Banyan Drive Art Stroll. Plein air artists will be in Lili‘uokalani Gardens from noon-3 p.m., including members of the Hilo Plein Air Group. Photographers will give tours/talks at the sites of their calendar images during the same time frame.
Patti Pease Johnson will demonstrate pastel painting at the Waioli Lounge at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel from 2-6 p.m. Brandon Tengan will demonstrate gyotaku (fish printing) from 3-4 p.m. at Suisan, and Ken Charon will demonstrate painting in the Palm Room of the Grand Naniloa Resort from 2-6 p.m.
Entertainment is scheduled throughout the day, starting with Puna Taiko at noon near Banyan Gallery. Puna Taiko will move to an area outside Hilo Bay Cafe about 1 p.m. Harpist Cymber Quin will play in the Waioli Lounge from 2-3 p.m.
Desiree Moana Cruz will be mistress of ceremonies at the lobby lounge of the Grand Naniloa. Featured performers are Christy Lassiter and Friends from noon-2 p.m., Kainani Kahaunaele from 2-4 p.m. and Mark Yamanaka from 4-6 p.m.
A complete schedule of events at each venue is available on the Friends of Lili‘uokalani Gardens Facebook page. A printed map brochure with the schedule will be available at all sponsor locations along the stroll.
Sponsors for the third annual Banyan Drive Art Stroll include Banyan Gallery, Suisan Fish Market, Hilo Bay Cafe, Pandamonia’s Paleta Palace, county Parks and Recreation Department, Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, Grand Naniloa Resort, Paradise Helicopters, Akamai Art Supply, Cunningham Gallery and the Friends of Lili‘uokalani Gardens.
Join the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the Friends of Midway Atoll and Waimea Ocean Film Festival as they present a screening of the film “Albatross” at 6:30 p.m. Friday (Jan. 11) at Mokupapapa Discovery Center in Hilo.
The film was recently awarded this year’s Planetary Health Film Prize at the Global Health Film Festival. Come experience the up-close and personal exploration of the intense beauty, compassion, love and grief experienced by Chris Jordan while filming the mating and nesting rituals of Laysan albatross and his discovery of the devastating consequences of rising amounts of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.
The film is not recommended for children younger than 12 years old.
For more information, contact with Friends of Midway Atoll members Rob Shallenberger at 937-1775 or Ann Bell at 261-4002.
Mokupapapa Discovery Center is located at 76 Kamehameha Ave. in downtown Hilo.
