Foodbank Gets 12,000 Pounds Rice

Thanks to Elsie H. Wilcox Foundation, the Kauai branch of Hawaii Foodbank recently received nearly 12,000 pounds of rice. A $5,000 grant from the foundation allowed the food bank to purchase 585 20-pound bags of rice, which were shipped from the Hinode dealer on Oahu. One Guy’s Co. delivered the five pallets of rice free of charge to the food bank’s warehouse in Puhi …

The Waimea Town Celebration happens throughout this week and offers a variety of activities, including an ice-cream eating contest, a basketball tournament and an ukulele contest. As part of the Westside celebration, Historic Waimea Theater will feature an evening of storytelling by Kathy “Tita” Collins Thursday (Feb. 20) from 7 to 8 p.m. She will share Japanese obake and Hawaiian ghost stories. Cupcakes, ice cream and chocolate will be available. Tickets cost $10. For more information about the celebration, visit waimeatowncelebration.com …

Kauai County Public Works Department will hold a public information meeting Wednesday (Feb. 19) at 6 p.m. regarding the draft environmental assessment of the Waipouli connection of the multiuse path, Ke Ala Hele Makalae. The meeting will be held at Kapaa Middle School cafeteria and will focus on the reevaluation of the makai alternative for the connection, which would run mostly along the ocean from Uhulekawawa Canal by Waipouli Beach Resort to Papaloa Road …

The Wailua-Kapaa Neighborhood Association meets Saturday (Feb. 22) from 2 to 4 p.m. at Kapaa Public Library. Kamealoha Hanohano-Smith, director of Ke Kaiaulu O Anahola, will speak about the organization’s indigenous place-based marine research project in Wailua. Visit wkna.org for more information …

National Tropical Botanical Garden is hosting two events this week. The first is a botanical illustration workshop Friday (Feb. 21) from 10 a.m. to noon led by artist Wendy Hollender at Limahuli Garden in Haena. All levels of experience are welcome. To pre-register, call 826-1668, ext. 3. The workshop is limited to 12 people; fee is $10. The second is a free lecture on botanical art and its importance in understanding plants, titled “Botany on Canvas – Seeing Plants through the Eyes of an Illustrator.” Hollender again is the featured speaker and will share her insights on the aesthetic and scientific aspects of botanical illustration. She has worked closely with New York Botanical Garden and has exhibited her art at institutions such as Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and the Smithsonian National Museum for Natural History. The lecture, slated for Feb. 25 at 5:30 p.m. in Kauai Community College‘s Campus Center, is part of NTBG and KCC’s “Plants for Our Planet” series …

Hawaii Children’s Theatre is having a whale-watching fundraiser with Capt. Andy’s Sailing Sunday (Feb. 23) at 8:30 a.m., departing from Port Allen. The $80 donation per person for the four-hour sail will benefit the theatre’s scholarships and other programs. Call 639-2437 to reserve seats or for more information …

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