Entertainment

Readers in grades kindergarten through 12 participating in the winter reading challenge that runs through Feb. 22 can win prizes from U.S. Olympic figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi.

While text messages disappear, a Valentine’s card endures; a handwritten message also carries thought — and heart — spanning miles.

Number of students in kindergarten through high school participating topped 100 this year during first event of Hawaiian language speech competition, at Windward Community College on Oʻahu had 120 student participants from kindergarten through high school sharing memorized passages and original speeches delivered entirely in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi during the event at Hale ʻĀkoakoa (Campus Center), and hundreds of more are registered to participate in upcoming competitions on other islands, including Kauaʻi.

Like the “Did You Feel It?” earthquake reporting tool helps make maps of areas affected by shaking, the new tool helps scientists map areas affected by tephra fallout; observations will be used to assess the character and size of the eruption plumes from Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island, along with the dispersal pattern of tephra fall.

We’re taking a different approach this week, highlighting what you might call a “featured item” or “must go”; Hilo Education Arts Repertory Theatre — or HEART — is hosting its 5th Anniversary Benefit Concert and Fundraiser at the beginning of next week, and now more than ever, the youth theatre program needs your help. Find this and more in this week’s top 10 things to do on the Big Island.

Free communitywide cultural and educational gathering planned for Feb. 22 in downtown Hilo.

Dive deeper into the park’s history and learn about the young local men who worked in the Great Depression-era federal jobs program to create much of the Big Island national park’s infrastructure and the legacy they left behind with a new online StoryMap sharing their contributions.

Enjoy worship, testimony, connection and community from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today (Feb. 1) at Moʻoheau Bandstand in beautiful downtown Hilo along the shore of Hilo Bay.

More than 250 players along with 1,000 spectators attended the event Jan. 24-25 at Hualani Baseball Park in the Keaukaha community in Hilo.

Get ready for a week that invites you to events from helping restore an ancient Hawaiian village site in the Valley of the Kings to expressing your opinions during a town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Congresswoman Jill Tokuda.

The vigil, organized by the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaiʻi, Hawai‘i Coalition for Immigrant Rights and The Legal Clinic Hawai‘i, honored the life of 37-year-old Alex Pretti of Minneapolis, who was killed last week by federal agents, and spurred communitywide support for bills to protect due process and Hawaiʻi residents.

Celebrate the art of Kona coffee — let your creativity brew! Art piece selected will be featured on all official 2026 festival merchandise, marketing and promotional materials.

“I wanted to come out here this year and start hot and not work my way into the season,” said reigning Charles Schwab Cup winner, PGA TOUR Champions Player of the Year and now 2026 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai winner Stewart Cink.

The show will be a local twist to the popular social dating format made famous by online series such as YouTube’s “Pop the Balloon.”

Defending champion Ernie Els and Charles Schwab Cup winners Stewart Cink and Steven Alkers are in the final threesome on Thursday, teeing off at 12:23 p.m.

From music events to learning about the eruptive episodes of Kīlauea, there is something entertaining for everyone.

People for Active Transportation Hawaiʻi is hosting the special event that will include a bike safety course, education opportunities and great opportunity to ride together with other bicyclists in the community.

Jahred Darius, a musician with PunaKat and an experienced sound engineer and talent booker, is managing the new music venue called the Rainbow Room.

The pieces on display as part of current the Historic Fashion Collection exhibit were selected by nearly 30 students at the Oʻahu high school, who could be the future of Hawaiʻi’s fashion industry; curating the exhibit introduces the teens to possible career paths ranging from designing to entrepreneurship and retail buying to sustainable fashion.

The free show features the band PunaKat, which will be joined by Steve Fundy of Uncle Charlie, and there will be a special “Grateful Grill” menu.