VIDEO: ‘Beachbum’ Berry talks Don the Beachcomber

Video by Jason Genegabus / jason@staradvertiser.com

By Jason Genegabus
jason@staradvertiser.com

Cocktail expert Jeff “Beachbum” Berry was on the Big Island last weekend to participate in the Second Annual Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Festival at the Big Island’s Royal Kona Resort. Along with judging the “World’s Best Mai Tai” contest, he was also asked to speak to guests about the life and drinks of the legendary Don the Beachcomber.

The Berry-hosted seminar also featured three tastings of Don the Beachcomber cocktails; in the video above, he talks about Don’s influence and the drinks he selected for the seminar.

In the Mix: BBQ meets Mai Tais at Royal Kona Resort

Photos by Jason Genegabus / jason@staradvertiser.com

By Jason Genegabus
jason@staradvertiser.com

KAILUA-KONA » Before more than 20 bartenders lined up at the Royal Kona Resort to determine the “World’s Best Mai Tai” last weekend, a handful of Big Island restaurants squared off in a “Battle of the BBQ” competition during the Second Annual Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Festival.

Just steps from the Pacific Ocean on the Kona coast, hotel guests and local residents mingled on a well-manicured lawn and sampled contest entries while also perusing a Mai Tai Marketplace set up in the same area. Maui’s Eric Gilliom was on hand to provide musical entertainment during the afternoon.

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PICS: Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Fest preview

Photos by Jason Genegabus / jason@staradvertiser.com

Some of the entries in the second annual Don the Beachcomber’s “World’s Best Mai Tai” contest, held last Saturday at the Royal Kona Resort on the Big Island.

By Jason Genegabus
jason@staradvertiser.com

It was a whirlwind of a Saturday last weekend, getting dropped off at Honolulu International Airport just after
8 in the morning for a flight to the Big Island to cover the second annual Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Festival.

Along with a “World’s Best Mai Tai” competition — worth $10,000 for the winning bartender’s recipe — the second day of the two-day event featured a “Battle of the BBQ” contest, live entertainment by local musicians Eric Gilliom and Henry Kapono, a lecture on Don the Beachcomber by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and an intimate concert by mainland rockers Third Eye Blind.

We’ll have more pictures from the barbeque and Mai Tai contests tomorrow — until then, here are some images posted to the Twitter account for TGIF while everything was going down on Saturday.

(Click on the panoramic shots for larger versions of each image.)

You can see all the posts by searching for the Twitter hashtag #DonsMTF.

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$10,000 up for grabs at ‘Mai Tai Festival’

Jamm Aquino / 2008

Local master mixologist Joey Gottesman will host a Mai Tai recipe competition during the second annual Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Festival in August.

By Gary Chun
gchun@staradvertiser.com

Celebrating the legacy of the man who invented the main tropical mixed drink, the 2nd Annual Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Festival will be held on Saturday, Aug. 14, at the Royal Kona Resort on the Big Island.

Bartenders from across the globe will compete in a grand mix-off to win a $10,000 cash prize and earn the honor of creating the World’s Best Mai Tai. (Judges will be award-winning celebrity chef Sam Choy, Bacardi Brand Master William Ramos, publisher of Hawaii Beverage Guide Chris Teves, nationally published rum and mai-tai expert Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, and mixologist Joey Gottesman.)

Throughout the day, the fest’s marketplace will feature local vendors selling artwork, crafts, clothing and local produce. Patrons will also be able to taste and vote for their favorite creation in the World’s Best BBQ contest. Award-winning celebrity chef Sam Choy will also be doing culinary demonstrations, and the day will end with a special acoustic performance under the night skies by best-selling rock band Third Eye Blind.

Registration forms for both the mix-off and BBQ contest can be downloaded at www.donsmaitaifest.com. Mix-off forms must be submitted by July 14 and has to include a photo of the particular mai-tai concoction and a non-refundable $25 registration fee. Restaurants and chefs entering the BBQ contest must mail their forms before the July 15 deadline.

The festival is free and open to the public, but script will be sold for food and beverage purchases (certain food and drinks will be sold via cash and credit).

Admission to the Third Eye Blind concert is $35 general admission and $50 VIP seating, and tickets are available at www.groovetickets.com.

Merrie Monarch 2010: Looking back

Eselu full of gratitude in victory

Dennis Oda / doda@starbulletin.com

Ke Kai O Kahiki kumu hula O’Brien Eselu, right, accepted three awards, including overall winner, on behalf of his halau at the Merrie Monarch festival last weekend.

By Nina Wu
nwu@starbulletin.com

HILO, Hawaii » Kumu hula O‘Brian Eselu has proven once again that a small group of hula dancers can be just as powerful as halau three or four times its size.

Eselu’s six-member halau, Waianae’s Ke Kai O Kahiki, won not only its second overall title at the 47th annual Merrie Monarch Festival last weekend, but also best kane overall as well as awards for best kane kahiko and kane ‘auana.

Originally from Samoa, Eselu returned to the Merrie Monarch festival two years ago after a hiatus due to health problems and surprised everyone by taking the overall title last year. The 54-year old entered his first Merrie Monarch competition 31 years ago with his late partner, Thaddius Wilson; the halau was known then as Na Wai ‘Eha O Puna.

Always humble, Eselu said he was full of gratitude when he learned his halau had won on Saturday.

“I just want to thank the Merrie Monarch Festival, Auntie Dottie and Uncle George,” he said. “Thirty-one years ago they were so kind to me, and so encouraging. I’m here to celebrate them and their legacy.”

Eselu said he was surprised at the wins because he introduced a new step in his kahiko number, “A Ka‘uku,” which is only used by his halau. It’s a step that involves jumping in the air, clapping, then coming back down with a waterfall movement. Eselu learned it from his own kumu decades ago.

It was a bold move and risk, one which the Merrie Monarch judges might not have approved of. Still, Eselu — also the director of a Polynesian show at Paradise Cove Luau and a Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning musician — is known for taking risks. Read more

Merrie Monarch 2010: Na Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu visits Halema‘uma‘u

Paying homage to Pele

Photos by Dennis Oda / doda@starbulletin.com

By Nina Wu
nwu@starbulletin.com

VOLCANO, Hawaii » There was a peaceful quiet and calm over Halema‘uma‘u at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Wednesday, as smoke from the caldera spouted upward into the vast horizon.

From a lookout spot before a healthy Ohia lehua tree in full bloom at the crater’s edge, kumu hula William “Sonny” Ching and his halau, Na Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu, offered chants to Pele and danced in full costume — first the men, then the women.

Miss Aloha Hula contender Ashlynne Kahoapilianakupuna Jingao stepped out onto a lauhala mat, chanted out to the caldera and performed her kahiko (an homage to her own ancestors) to the natural elements, completely in the moment.

In the stillness, there was no other sound except for the song of birds in the background (and people snapping photos). It was a spiritual moment — an offering — rather than a competition or a performance.

Then one by one, each member of the halau went up to the edge, and offered first their lei po‘o (head lei) and lei a‘i (neck lei) in a neat pile. Read more