A Documentary And Kapa-making

Kirsten Jackson. Photo courtesy Kirsten Jackson

A couple weeks ago I attended an annual YWCA meeting, where keynote speaker Dr. Lualolo Hong addressed this year’s theme: “Women and Men as Allies Building Trust and Shared Ownership.” Encouraging discourse between men and women, Hong doled out some startling statistics, including that women make up more than 90 percent of the nation’s adult victims of sexual violence.

As October comes to a close Domestic Violence Awareness Month on Kaua’i the YWCA will sponsor a free screening of the documentary Miss Representation, directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Kaua’i Community College Performing Arts Center with a panel discussion to follow. The 2011 Maui Film Festival winner features some of the most inspirational and influential women of contemporary Western society, namely Condoleezza Rice, Lisa Ling, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Rosario Dawson, Jackson Katz, Jean Kilbourne and Gloria Steinem. For more information, call Francis Dinnan at 245-8381 …

Kumu and cultural practitioner Sabra Kauka will continue to inspire and educate folks about the Hawaiian culture in an intensive kapa-making workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Lawai Valley. Meet at 8:40 a.m. for an opening oli. The workshop will include an introduction to the wauke plant as well as weeding, cleaning, gathering, stripping, pounding and designing techniques, and will end with a closing chant. Bring your own carving knife, drawing pencil, sketchbook, gardening gloves and large opihi shells. The Art of Traditional Kapa Making workshop is limited to 12 participants. Cost is $150; registration is required. For more information and to register, call the NTBG Southshore Visitor Center at 742-2433 or email vcevent@ntbg.org …

Sam Jajich. Photo courtesy Office of the Prosecuting Attorney

Budding food and agriculture businesses shouldn’t miss the Kaua’i Economic Development Board‘s final informational and networking session from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Monday (Oct. 24) at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center meeting room. The session, sponsored by Kaua’i Coffee, is part of the island’s first agricultural business plan competition. The program brings together the resources critical to achieving profitability in the food and agriculture industry, ranging from business planning training to coaching and mentoring by field experts. In addition to training and networking, the top three winning participants will receive $20,000, $10,000 and $5,000 respectively. KEDB and the leaders on its Food & Agriculture Committee spent the past two years working with the industry to increase food security, lessen food imports and keep more money in the pockets of local businesses and residents. Those eligible to compete include all existing farming, value-added food production businesses and ag-based renewable energy businesses, as well as people wanting to start a business in those fields. Entrepreneurs with a service to offer, including accountants, bookkeepers, grant writers and lawyers, also are welcome. Members of KEDB’s Food & Ag Committee and the ag community at large will be there. For more information, contact Susan Tai Kaneko at stai@kedb.com or 245-6692…

I’m so excited to make mention of an up-and-coming artist on the scene, Kirsten Jackson, who attempts thoughts, contemplations and the emotions of everyday life in her oil paintings and sculpture. “This is about living, thriving, feeding my soul,” Jackson says of her work, which she says she dives “fully into with the risk of drowning.” Jackson, who currently works out of her studio in Kilauea, is a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and spent her childhood years in Wilmington, N.C. An exhibition of her abstract art will be on view 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 3; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 4; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 5; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 6; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 7; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Kaua’i Society of Artists‘ exhibition space at Kukui Grove Center in Lihu’e. The show is free and open to the public and is supported in part by the Kaua’i Society of Artists, the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and Kukui Grove Shopping Center. For more information, go to studiokerr.com …

It’s hard to believe November is already around the corner, and with Halloween approaching quickly, perhaps scheduling some counter-exercise to all that leftover candy is a good idea. But if that’s not enough reason, then perhaps benefiting causes such as the Kaua’i Community College’s

Nursing, Electronics Technology and Professional Massage programs as well as RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) is reason enough to lace up your running shoes. The Rotary Club of Kaua’i’s ninth annual Old Koloa Sugar Mill Run will begin at 7 a.m. for the 10mile race, 7:15 for the 10K race and 7:30 for the 5K walk Nov. 12 at Anne Knudsen Park. Cost is $25 online at active.com if registration is completed by Nov. 1. Cost is $30 Nov. 110 and $40 on race day (until 6:30 a.m.) Cost includes an ono breakfast, T-shirt and, of course, the personal pride that comes with participating. Packet pickup is from noon to 6 p.m. Nov. 11 at the exhibit area near Deja Vu and Zales at Kukui Grove Shopping Mall in Lihue Event sponsors include The Bone & Joint Center at Kaua’i Medical Clinic, Grove Farm Company Inc., Chevron Hawaii, The County Of Kaua’i and Kaua’i Spring Water. For more information, contact Tom Lodico: 6355404, or go to ldkoloasugarmillrun.org …

Speaking of good causes, Live Music Kaua’i, a nonprofit with a mission to bring more musical experiences and learning opportunities to local youths, will have its first-ever “Boo Ball” from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 28 at Kaua’i Veterans Center in Lihu’e. The Halloween costume party promises lots of dancing with live music by String Theory, and will benefit Live Music Kaua’i’s youth music program. Cost is $25. Tickets are available at Kaua’i Music & Sound, Scotty’s Music and Talk Story Bookstore. For more information, go to LiveMusicKauai.org, or contact Marty Leonard at 6356477 or marty@livemusickauai.org…

Congratulations to Sam Jajich, recently named second deputy prosecuting attorney for the County of Kaua’i. Jajich has been the deputy prosecutor assigned to felony drug crimes since 2009, where he maintained a conviction rate of more than 98 percent. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from Boston University and graduated magna cum laude from Detroit College of Law in Michigan. Before joining the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Jajich, a 23-year resident of Kaua’i, handled real property law, civil litigation, criminal law, landlord tenant, and contracts. He also has the unique distinction of having served as a law clerk for two of Kaua’i’s most highly regarded former judges: Clifford L. Nakea and George M. Masuoka. Jajich has two children, Sam, 23, and Miles, 9, and lives with wife Lisa in Princeville …