by Eleanor Svaton

Stage / Roald Dahl–you know, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory–also penned a fanciful, albeit subversive tale called The Twits, about a grotesque old couple bent on capturing Muggle-Wumps from an exotic, faraway, tropical forest to turn them into a circus act. Professional voice actor John Gruhler plays the narrator (on stilts!) accompanied by a highly trained and talented cast and crew of local professionals, including three members of Hawaii Theatre Center’s Junior Ensemble as the loveable Muggle-Wumps.

by James Cave

Concerts & Clubs / Back when Downbeat Diner & Lounge opened in 2011, it quickly established itself as the best spot in Chinatown for a cheap bite and beer. Only thing, they didn’t have the lounge part (yet).

by James Cave

Museums / Stand between Serious Fun, Thurston Twigg-Smith’s collection of unconventional art and Little Worlds: Video Sculptures by Tony Oursler, in a nearby gallery, and you’re in the midst of some of the wackiest, most-heretical contemporary art the Honolulu Museum of Art has shown in years. Twigg-Smith, the mega-rich, polarizing and political former publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser is also a renowned art collector of international artists.

by Christa Wittmier

Extras / There are some phrases that will never lose their thunder. “Girl power” is one of them.

by Matthew DeKneef

Galleries / Correction: The title for this event is First Light Last Light. The original article is below.

by Wayne Coito

Outside / In the TV series Shaq vs, the cocky NBA Champ would take on other elites such as Tyson Gay on the track and Michael Phelps in the pool. Of course, the opponents would be handicapped to give the out-of-shape former Laker a fighter’s chance.

by Donovan Kūhiō Colleps

Learning / The dictionary defines the word topophilia as “The feeling of affection which individuals have for particular places.” It’s also the name of an incredibly influential and versatile book by philosopher, teacher and innovator Yi-Fu Tuan, who will hold a rare public lecture, “Cultural Diversity and the Ideal of Progress.” The talk will range from how we study landscapes to how we study ourselves, exploring the aesthetic and moral dimensions of human culture, the meanings of home, place, wilderness, human goodness, art and the environment. Tuan’s work in human geography–he was the winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize for scholars in geography–has reconfigured the way we view the relationships between space and society–a concept obviously relevant to Hawaii.

by Tiffany Hervey

Festivals & Fairs / Surfers love yoga almost as much as they love barrels. Getting loose and finding balance enhances game in the water.

by Katrina Valcourt

Concerts & Clubs / Texican rock ’n’ roll is not that common in Honolulu, despite your best friend’s drunken karaoke version of “Heaven,” by Los Lonely Boys. The brothers of LLB–Henry, JoJo and Ringo–took home a Grammy in 2005 for the song.

by James Cave

Concerts & Clubs / Go back to A Knight’s Tale and think about the sweet face of Shannyn Sossamon, the only reason a guy could get into that musically blasphemous, medieval Heath Ledger chick flick. She also starred in the short-lived CBS vampire drama Moonlight with Alex O’Laughlin before he was Steve McGarrett.

by Maria Kanai

Extras / In April, a crew of six will fly over to the Big Island for a mock Martian mission near Mauna Loa for four months. “There are parts of the Big Island that are very Mars- and moon-like, in their physical nature,” says Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) researcher Kim Binstead.

by James Cave

Stage / When was the last time you stopped to ask yourself what it means to be American? This morning, stuck in the Middle Street merge?

by Matthew DeKneef

Learning / American director Ramin Bahrani is one of independent cinema’s most exciting voices–one worth listening to. The auteur behind Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo and upcoming At Any Price starring Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron, Bahrani will lead Narrative Filmmaking with Ramin Bahrani, engaging attendees in a hands-on workshop over the course of a weekend.

by Katrina Valcourt

Concerts & Clubs / Punks, parties and politics go hand in hand (in hand) when it comes to NOFX. The 30-year-old group of misfits (an impressive run for a band that never signed to a major label), currently on tour in support of their 12th studio album, Self Entitled, isn’t done yet–they just released their 30th-anniversary limited edition LP box set and will tear it up at The Republik this Saturday night.

by Kalani Wilhelm

There are highbrow music fans who appreciate Bonobo’s chilled-out, downtempo, intelligent symphonic trance, and those who want earfuls of electronic funk. Weekend revelers who decide to check out award-winning DJ/producer and Bonobo founder Simon Green are in for both when he takes over the table at Space Truckin’, thirtyninehotel’s monthly music showcase.

by Maria Kanai

Galleries / It’s been 85 years since the Honolulu Printmakers (HP) first assimilated, and they’re celebrating their Annual Exhibition: 85 appropriately with “85,” a theme on which artists can riff any way they want. Juror Hiroki Morinoue says, “[The theme] was a surprise, especially on a state-juried show, but we’re looking at the quality of work in general.” The Big Island artist is the first local artist in 25 years invited by HP to jury the show.

by Niko Rivas

Extras / Mercury is the planet closest to the sun, which is a star, which could be YOU! The star of the golden-hued Mercury stage, that is.

by Stephen Fox

Stage / The second production in Hawaii Opera Theatre’s brief season is Dialogues of the Carmelites–evocative and eloquent, despite cataloguing the deaths of 16 nuns at the guillotine during the French Revolution. Francis Poulenc was 58 when he wrote both libretto and music, and he knew his craft well.

by Steve Wagenseller

Stage / In 1940, writer and illustrator Armstrong Sperry published a book that set children’s imaginations on fire. In it, a young Polynesian boy, Mafatu, battles the mighty ocean alone, his only companions a little yellow dog and an albatross.

by Matthew DeKneef

Galleries / Artist Adam Funari and photographer Michael Keany get by with a little help from their 200 Friends. The upcoming exhibition showcases 200 photographs and monotypes of some familiar faces that create a single multi-faceted portrait of Chinatown’s diverse arts scene.

by Kalani Wilhelm

Concerts & Clubs / K-Ci and JoJo, Blackstreet, Shai and Bobby V will rock the house at Soul Sessions Vol. 4, a Valentine’s Day serenade and ode to the closeness and comfort of yesteryear’s R&B.

by Donovan Kuhio Colleps

Festivals & Fairs / Bring yourself, a sweetheart or the whole family, but–most importantly–bring your appetite. It’s time for that other private-school festival everybody loves: Kamehameha Schools’s 83rd Annual Hoolaulea.

by Matthew DeKneef

Museums / Switch on FOX, HLN or CNN. See their coverage of warfare, the poker-faced weight of it.

by Matthew DeKneef

Festivals & Fairs / For many, the week around Valentine’s Day doesn’t have anything to do with roses. It means it’s time again to the paint the town Pow Wow.

by Niko Rivas

Extras / Listening to an album on vinyl can be downright addictive. That feeling of anxiety as you thumb through sleeves at a record shop; the moment your eyes fall upon the beautiful cover art of your favorite band’s best album; the frustration of hitting every red light on your way home so that you can hear that needle finally get into the record’s groove–there’s nothing quite like it.