Author: Donica Kaneshiro

I have only 6,575 days from my kids' birth until their 18th birthday, and I’m trying to make the most of every day.

For athletes of all ages

The free ESPN 1420 Sports Festival is coming back to at the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. June 16. There will be activities and gear for players of football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, soccer, martial arts and more. Get the kids off their tablets and see how many fun ways there are to get fit. http://www.espn1420am.com/2018-sports-festival/

Vacation planning

It’s nearly the end of the school year. If you’re planning a trip to the mainland and have an incoming or outgoing fourth grader in tow, check out the National Park Service’s Every Kind in a Park program. Fill out some info online and get your fourth grader a year’s free admission to any National Park. Whether your going to take a sunrise drive up Haleakala, explore the melting ice caps of Glacier National Park or camp by Half Dome at Yosemite, there are fabulous experiences for every kid out there.  https://www.everykidinapark.gov/get-your-pass/

Get wild on Wednesdays

The Honolulu Zoo’s  popular summer concert series The Wildest Show in Town begins again tonight. Guests may enter the zoo at 4:35 (get there when gates open if you want to get a quick peek at the animals before the exhibits are closed for the evening. Concerst run from 6 to 7 p.m. and admission is $5 for those ages 2 and older. Bring your picnic dinner or purchase one on-site. The 10-week concert schedule is:
  • June 13: Josh Tatofi
  • June 20: Roy Sakuma’s Super Keiki
  • June 27: Keauhou
  • July 11: Beat Lele
  • July 18: Special Guest
  • July 25: Makaha Sons
  • Aug. 1: Johnny Helm and Friends
  • Aug. 8: Noel Okimoto and his Jazz All Stars – A Tribute To Legendary Jazz Vocalist, Jimmy Borges
  • Aug. 15: Jon Yamasato and Iron Mango
Visit www.honoluluzoo.org or call 926-3191.

Patriotic picnic

On June 15, Picnic on the Pier returns with a dockside view of the Battleship Missouri Memorial while you enjoy your sunset picnic 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on Ford Island. Bring your own food and drinks (no glass containers or grills), or buy something from Tin Hut BBQ and Honolulu BeerWorks on site. There will be keiki activities and yours of the battleship. Admission is $10 adults and $5 kids presale of $15 and $10 respectively at the door. Free round-trip shuttle service from the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. For  information and to purchase tickets, visit www.ussmissouri.org/picnic. It’s a great way to kick off the summer.

Premiere of Moana in Hawaiian

Disney’s “Moana” is making its ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi premiere at Ko Olina’s World Oceans Day on June 10. The movie stars Auliʻi Cravalho as Moana, Christopher Kaipulaumakaniolono Baker as Maui, Nicole Scherzinger as Sina, Kelikokauaikekai Hoe as Ali‘i Tui, Kalehuapuakeʻula Kawaʻa as Puna Tala, Kamakakehau Fernandez as Tamatoa, and 24 locally cast Hawaiian-speaking actors. World Oceans Day focuses on plastic pollution prevention and cleaning the ocean of marine litter. The free celebration begins at 4 p.m. and open to the public. Visit 2018worldoceansdaykoolina.eventbrite.com.

Weather is hot, time to get wet

In honor of King Kamemameha Day, Wet N Wild Hawaii is only charging $25 admission all weekend through June 11 when you present your Hawaii State of military ID. Maximum of 4 discounted admission per ID. Plus on June 11, the first 111 guests before 11 a.m. will receive admission for $11. Also on June 11, body board on the Flowrider for free. https://www.wetnwildhawaii.com/events/king-kamemameha-day/

Volcanologist for an afternoon

With the spectacular and destructive eruption continuing, the kids’ interest in volcanoes is at an all-time high. Things are a bit too treacherous on the Big Island, but seize this teachable moment with a trip to the Bishop Museum’s Science Adventure Center. The volcano display has never resonated so loudly or seemed so relevant as it does now!