Astronaut Ellison Onizuka Remembrance Day 2009

Hawaii-born NASA astronaut Ellison Shoji Onizuka died 23 years ago today, on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded a few minutes after taking off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Let's take a few minutes to remember Ellison Onizuka, along with the crew members who died with him that day: Judy Resnik, Greg Jarvis, Ron McNair, Commander Dick Scobee, pilot Mike Smith and schoolteacher Sharon Christa McAuliffe. Ellison Onizuka is resting in peace at the National Cemetery of the Pacific inside Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu.

Photos of Ellison Onizuka's First Space Flight

Ellison Onizuka Memorials

More About Ellison Onizuka

Aerial Photo of Punchbowl Crater

Things To Do on Valentine's Day in Hawaii

Romantic ideas for celebrating Valentine's Day in Hawaii. A Valentine's Day cocktail party at the Honolulu Zoo, a Valentine's Day Ukulele Festival in a Honolulu waterfront park, how to order a singing Valentine in Honolulu, where to buy Valentine's Day balloons, and special events on Valentine's Day on several Hawaiian islands. Includes dinner-dances, dinner cruises, romantic inns, luxury spas, and gift ideas with a romantic Hawaii theme.

January 2009 Issue of Kathie's Hawaii Newsletter

The first email edition of my Hawaii Newsletter was sent to subscribers on January 23, 2009. Features included in that issue:

How to Celebrate Valentine's Day in Hawaii

A tribute to Hawaii astronaut Ellison Onizuka

Some of my favorite Hawaiian music venues in Waikiki

Hawaiian Grammy nominee concert in Southern California

Meet My 101 Year Old Ukulele Teacher
- View Issue 2009-02 of My Hawaii Newsletter
- Subscribe to My Email Newsletter (it's free!)

Chef Chai Cookbook Signing at Ala Moana Center

Chef Chai Chaowasaree will be signing his new cookbook at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Ala Moana Center on Friday, January 30, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. His new book is entitled "The Island Bistro Cookbook" and it features almost 100 recipes from his two award winning Honolulu restaurants: Chai's Island Bistro in the Aloha Tower Marketplace and Singa Thai Cuisine on Ala Moana Boulevard.

The Island Bistro Cookbook at Amazon.com

Chef Chai Restaurant: Chai's Island Bistro

Chef Chai Restaurant: Singa Thai Cuisine

Crab Festival at the New Sam Choy's Restaurant

Hawaii celebrity chef Sam Choy opened his Diamond Head restaurant on Kapahulu Avenue in 1995 and two years later he opened a second restaurant called "Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch, and Crab" on Nimitz Highway, not far from Hilo Hattie. In June of 2008 he announced he was closing his Diamond Head location and consolidating that restaurant with his Nimitz location. Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch, and Crab has been renamed simply Sam Choy's, and while it still features the crab dishes it has always been famous for, items from the menu of the Diamond Head restaurant are gradually being added. Sam Choy's is holding its annual crab festival Sunday, January 25 through Sunday, February 1, 2009. During that week the menu will feature three types of crab, Maryland Blue Crab, Alaskan Snow Crab, and Dungeness Crab, prepared in a variety of different ways. For more information call Sam Choy's Restaurant at 808-545-7979.

Sam Choy's Restaurant in Honolulu

Fourteen Cookbooks By Sam Choy

My First Hawaii Newsletter - There's Still Time to Subscribe

I'm sending the very first email edition of my Hawaii newsletter in the next few days. All of our newsletters will eventually be posted on the Hawaii Travel Newsletter Web site, but the Web version might not be available right away. If you subcribe to the newsletter you will be able to read each issue immediately when it is published. If you read a few newsletters, and decide you don't want to receive the email version, it's very easy to unsubscribe at anytime.

Hawaii's 2009 Obama Inaugural Balls

Information about Hawaii's 2009 Obama Inaugural Balls in Honolulu and Washington DC, including (among others) the Hawaii Democratic Party's Inaugural Ball at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki and the official inaugural ball for invited residents of Hawaii and Illinois, the Home States Inaugural Ball.

2009 Hawaii Wall Calendars

Hawaii wall calendars available in 2009 include calendars featuring the photographs of James Randklev, Kirk Lee Aeder, and National Geographic, calendars featuring the artwork of Mary Koski, Rosalie Prussing, and vintage Matson prints, and special interest Hawaii calendars featuring Hawaiian quilts and Hawaii golf courses. There is also a very special "vintage photos of Hawaii" 2009 calendar published by the Hawaii Historic Society. The 2009 Peggy Chun calendar listed on our 2009 Hawaii Wall Calendars page is no longer available at Amazon.com, and it is difficult to find elsewhere, probably because the popular watercolor artist passed away in November.

Martin Luther King Day Events in Hawaii

Martin Luther King Day has been a state holiday in Hawaii since January of 1989 when it officially replaced Discoverers' Day as a Hawaii state holiday. This year Martin Luther King Day is on Monday, January 19, 2009 and events in Hawaii will include a parade on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, a peace rally in Honolulu's Kapiolani Park, a Nagasaki Peace Bell ringing ceremony in downtown Honolulu, a parade in Kahului, Maui, and a special event at the Hilo Palace Theater on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Hundreds of 2009 Hawaii Events

It was called to my attention this morning that not everyone has been able to view the events listed in our calendar. Evidently some people could connect to each month of our 2009 Hawaii Calendar but none of the events were visible to them. I am so sorry about that. I just hate it when things like that happen! I did a bit of tweaking and the events in our calendar should now be visible to everyone. If our monthly calendar pages still look blank to you, please let me know right away by sending email to kathiefry@gmail.com. You can have your Hawaii event added to our calendar by posting an announcement in our forum or by sending me a message.

January 2009 Hawaii Events

February 2009 Hawaii Events

All 2009 Hawaii Events