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Iron Man
Kids put cooking skills to the test before iron chef Masaharu Morimoto
Posted: June 30, 2010

Beef Enchilada Pot Pie and Sweet and Sour Spam made iron chefs out of youth from the Parents and Children Together Community Teen Program on Saturday at Makalapa Community Center, where a cooking competition was judged by real-life iron chef Masaharu Morimoto.

The young contenders, grouped in teams in two age divisions, faced off using the secret ingredient: canned meat.

The Microteers -- Patrick Eram andKaliga, both 13 and students at Kalakaua Middle School -- took top honors in the senior division with the Spam dish. Hotlava Chefs -- Becky Sirota, 9; Denny Tiumalu, 7; and April Labuguen, 10; of Fern Elementary -- won first place in the junior division for the pot pie, which featured canned beef.

Runners-up were Hui Kaulana in the junior division, with a Chicken Artichoke Pizza, and Seba's Best Fwends in the senior division for Cheesy Chicken Pot Bisquit Cups.

The four teams, picked in an earlier competition, prepared their dishes in an hour. The senior teams also were required to research the nutritional value of their recipes.

Morimoto is preparing for the opening of his new restaurant, Morimoto Waikiki. Co-judges included Kelsei Ikeda, chef at Nobu Waikiki.

The PACT afterschool program services youth who live in and around Honolulu public housing complex.

JT For more information, visit www.pacthawaii.org or call Barbara Johnson, Kaua‘i Regional Director, at 821-0574.

The Garden Island
Posted: February 23, 2010

LIHU‘E — Parents And Children Together (PACT-Kaua‘i) will hold a Bob Marley Tribute Fundraiser on at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center in Puhi.

Doors open at 7 p.m. This is an all ages show. Bob Marley, internationally known as “the godfather of reggae music” and “a visionary and revolutionary artist,” was born Feb. 6, 1945, in Jamaica. He died of cancer on May 11, 1981.

The celebration will include a showing of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1979 Santa Barbara Concert film, “The Legend Live.” Shilo Pa, Kaua‘i’s own beloved and celebrated artist, and Marty Dread, Maui’s local reggae “ambassador,” will each perform at the fundraiser.

Refreshments and food (I-tal) will be available for purchase between 6:30-7:30 p.m. outside the center.

Tickets are on sale for $10 in advance at locations islandwide. On the North Shore, tickets can be purchased at Papaya’s, Hanalei Surf Company, Hanalei Music’s Strings and Things, the Hawaiian Music Kiosk outside Foodland, Healthy Hut, and the North Shore Pharmacy; in Kapaa at Papaya’s, Larry’s Music, and Kaua‘i Music and Sound; in Lihue, at Border’ Books and Music; and at Scotty’s Music in Kalaheo and Progressive Expressions in Koloa. Tickets may also be purchased directly from the PACT office in Kapaa, and they will be on sale at the door the night of the show for $15. Advance purchase is recommended.

All proceeds go to PACT Kaua‘i’s Family Visitation Center (FVC), a program that helps those who may be have been in contentious family situations or impacted by domestic violence or other criminal behavior.

For more information, visit www.pacthawaii.org or call Barbara Johnson, Kaua‘i Regional Director, at 821-0574.

Bob Marley fundraiser to feature film footage and local musicians

The Garden Island | Posted: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 11:45 pm

LIHU‘E — Parents And Children Together (PACT-Kaua‘i) will hold a Bob Marley Tribute Fundraiser on at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center in Puhi.

Refreshments and food (I-tal) will be available for purchase between 6:30-7:30 p.m. outside the center.

For more information, visit www.pacthawaii.org or call Barbara Johnson, Kaua‘i Regional Director, at 821-0574.

Remembering Music Legend Bob Marley

By David Bois | Friday, February 5, 2010 1:34 PM ET

Bob Marley would have been 65 on February 6, an occasion being embraced as a moment for doing good, very much in the spirit of the man and his music whose impact remains strong to this day.

It has been almost three decades since the man who nearly single-handedly popularized reggae around the world passed away. But the influence of Bob Marley, who would have turned 65 on February 6, remains in place today as a sweet, sonic touchstone of hope, love and compassion.

The reach of impact that the man and his music continue to have is nothing short of astonishing; a review of his musical legacy by way of The Covers Project bears this out in just two examples. His song "No Woman No Cry" has been re-recorded by the likes of John Mayer, Joan Baez, Rancid and The Fugees. Similarly, "Redemption Song" has been given treatment by The Chieftans, Stevie Wonder, U2, Pearl Jam and Johnny Cash.

It's a challenging exercise to conjure up other figures in popular music whose work has spoken to such a broad, genre-crossing roster of artists. And without a doubt the man's legacy lives on through his children, three of whom ABC reminds us were nominated for Grammy Awards, resulting in two recent Grammy wins for sons Stephen and Ziggy.

And the occasion of Marley's birthday is being embraced as an opportunity to reach out in compassion for hopes of a better world. Hawaii-based Parents and Children Together (PACT) is holding a fundraiser featuring a screening of "The Legend Live," a documentary centered on a 1979 concert in Santa Barbara, California with proceeds earmarked for the support of domestic violence education and prevention.

Appropriately, the occasion also serves to continue to raise attention and support for those in Haiti through fundraising events in Madison, Wisconsin and Los Angeles among other locations. It's a fitting way to honor this man, to invite people to truly celebrate his life and message with the very acts of kindness, love and community so beautifully captured in music that rings true to this day.

Photo courtesy of Ueli Frey via Wikimedia Commons