4th of July Celebration

Turtle Bay Resort announces the schedule for this year’s 4th of July Celebration. This year, as in years past, parking and entrance into the activities are free. The gates will open early Sunday evening, July 4th, at 5:30 pm. Parking will be near the Stables at Turtle Bay Resort and activities will be on the West Lawn.

Two great bands, Ka’ala Boys and  Kapena, will provide live entertainment from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Fireworks are scheduled for 8:00 pm. Community vendors will be selling food at their booths from 6:00 pm until dark. Come prepared to indulge yourself with the best flavors of the area. Bring your blankets and low back beach chairs (no high back chairs please).

In order to ensure a clean environment and a safe and enjoyable evening for all we ask that there be no coolers please.

Just in case you actually thought you needed an excuse to come visit us next week, we thought we’d go ahead and provide you with one. Make arrangements to enjoy the 18th Annual Samoan World Fire Knife Competition at the Polynesian Cultural Center, to be held May 12th to May 15th, 2010, and stay just down the road at the luxurious Turtle Bay Resort.

The Polynesian Cultural Center will be bringing together the most exciting and daring ‘ailao afi dancers from Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti and elsewhere from around the world to compete in front of live audiences for honor, for cash prizes, and for the world title. For four days these dancers will thrill you with their tremendous athletic abilities and they pit their skills, bravery, superb coordination and fire against bare skin.

Wednesday, May12th – 7:45 pm at the Hale Aloha. This night will begin the competition as all senior competitors will go head to head. At the end of the evening, nine semi-finalists will be named that will go on to the next level of competition the next night.

Thursday, May 13th – 7:45 pm at the Hale Aloha. The nine semi-finals will compete and be reduced to three finalists that will go on to compete on both Friday and Saturday nights. This night will also showcase the junior division and the open duet division competitors, with the winners in both divisions being named at the end of the evening.

Friday, May 14th – 7:30 pm at the Pacific Theater. The first round of the world fireknife championship will take place with the three finalists competing during the intermission of the night show.

Saturday, May 15th – 9:00 am at the Pacific Theater. This morning event features the Samoan Festival High School Competitions, including oratory, traditional skills such as fire making, coconut husking, songs and dances by high school students from throughout Oahu, with winners being named at the end of the event.

Saturday, May 15th – 7:30 pm at the Pacific Theater.  The final round of the world fire knife championship will take place with the three finalists competing during the intermission of the night show. The title of “World Fire knife Champion” will be awarded at a special ceremony following the end of the night show.

Tickets are available through the Polynesian Cultural Center’s Website or by calling 808-293-3333.

What a glorious way to celebrate the end of Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 9^th, than with a special Mother’s Day Prime Rib Dinner Buffet at the Palm Terrace Restaurant at Turtle Bay Resort. This special dinner serves as a delightful alternative to Turtle Bay Resort’s Mother’s Day Brunch. Dinner will be served from 5 pm to 9 pm. The Mother’s Day Prime Rib Dinner Buffet includes:

Celebrate Mother’s Day in a special way in the Kuilima Ballroom at Turtle Bay Resort Sunday, May 9, 2010. Seating will be at 10:00 am, 10:30 am, 12:30 pm & 1:00 pm. Selections include:

Tuesday, April 20, 2010, Sophie began the labor process. Alicia, the Manager of The Stables at Turtle Bay Resort and her staff had been doing round the clock vigils for days, carefully monitoring Sophie for the signs  of the impending birth. The process then seamed to stop…but with the embryonic fluids already released, Alicia new she had to do something, she just didn’t know what.

She called one of her friends from the big island of Hawaii and asked what to do. Alicia then spent the next hours, cell phone held between her shoulder and her ear so she could have both hands free, giving the required aid as instructed. At 7:15 pm, a young filly entered the world and as she was exposed to the evening air, she shivered. Alicia thought that was the perfect name for her new horse…and so Shiver was born.

The Stables at Turtle Bay Resort also recently added two new horses to its working line up, Heapo, a 9 year old gelding and Nick, a 12 year old gelding. Both Heapo and Nick are currently going through their new hire training program, learning the trails and adjusting to their new home on the North Shore of Oahu.

Drop by and take a look. Better yet, call (808) 293-6000 and sign up for a trail ride. More information on rides and prices is here.

April 26th, 2010, for one night only at Twenty One Degrees North, come prepared to revel in the ultimate expertise of Executive Chef Hector Morales and Chef De Cuisine John Armstrong as they join forces with Arger-Martucci Vineyards to present a night of world class fine dining.

The evening will start with a 1st course of seared diver scallops with poached asian pears, melted leeks and caviar paired with Arger-Martucci Viognier Russian River Valley 2007, followed by a 2nd course of pepper crusted ahi with watercress ginger puree and mustard vinegar paired with Arger-Martucci Pinot Noir Carneros 2004, followed by a 3rd course of roasted lamb loin with potato risotto and spring vegetables paired with Arger-Martucci Syrah Atlas Peak 2005, followed by a 4th course of seared petite tenderloin with foie gras and waialua asparagus paired with Arger-Martucci Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak 2004, and finished with a 5th course of chilled Kahuku watermelon soup with coconut tapioca pearls and cantaloupe sorbet paired with Arger-Martucci Dullinea Mendocino 2006. All for only $80.

Seating is at 6:30 pm and is limited. For reservations call (808) 293-6000.

What a great Easter Sunday. The day started at Turtle Bay Resort with a special non-denominational Easter Service, followed by visits by the Easter Bunny and a phenomenal Easter Day Brunch and an Easter Day Dinner. Locals and guests feasted on the finest foods of the North Shore. Yet as the day drew to a close, Living Local with the Baraquios aired on local station KHON and now as well in California, with a special feature of fine “grinds” (food) in Hawaii. Rather than elaborate further…just check it out for yourself:

Be sure to watch Living Local Sunday evenings at 5:30 pm locally on KHON for further ways to make your stay in Hawaii, whether you live here or visit here, the best ever. And in California, look for it in your local cable listings.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finished its seasonal whale count this past Saturday. The count is conducted at various locations in Hawaii (including Turtle Bay Resort) on each of the last Saturdays of January, February and March. The information obtained from these counts is used by researchers who are monitoring the success of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

Congress established the sanctuary in 1992 and with the approval of Hawaii’s governor the sanctuary was fully designated in 1997. It covers 1,370 square miles of coastal waters adjacent to the main Hawaiian Islands.

Previously hunted to near extinction, these whales are making a slow comeback. As the 5th largest of the great whales, the humpbacks weigh about 1.5 tons at birth (10 to 16 feet long) and grow to about 45 tons and 45 feet long. It can take up to 10 years for a female to reach sexual maturity and then they only give birth up to every third year. Based on the counts the current world’s humpback whale population has now reached 7,000 but they still have long way to go to reach the 20,000 population that existed in the pre-whaling population.

Humpback whales are unique among all whales in that they tend to display acrobatic movements as they travel, giving them a reputation for being playful. Yet maybe the Humpback’s most famous and intriguing feature is its song, which is said to be one of the longest and most complex in the animal kingdom.

The whales can be seen from Turtle Bay Resort best during their migration period, which begins in December and ends in April of each year. Turtle Bay Resort enjoyed its working relationship with NOAA this year, as it has in the past years. More information on the sanctuary and its projects can be found here.

If you will be at Turtle Bay Resort on last Saturday of January, February or March of next year, you might want to consider signing up and being a volunteer for the next year’s whale count!

An all-star cast, including Dennis Quaid, AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Kevin Sorbo, Lorraine Nicholson and Carrie Underwood, under the direction of Sean McNamara, has finished shooting the epic movie Soul Surfer, based on the real life story of champion surfer Bethany Hamilton. On Halloween Day, October 31, 2003, Bethany was surfing with her friend Alana Blanchard and Alana’s brother and father when a 15 foot shark attacked her, taking her left arm from just below the shoulder.

The movie, though covering the attack, also focuses on the tremendous effort required by Bethany to come back from wondering whether it would even be possible to surf again to her current ranking today as the number 12th rated professional women’s surfer in the world.

Turtle Bay Resort served as the production headquarters for the six weeks of filming. It is also featured in the movie itself, with one of the movie’s surf contests being the “Turtle Bay Resort Invitational”. Soul Surfer will be distributed by Sony Pictures and a fall 2010 release is currently expected. Be sure to check it out!

Conde Nast Traveler says the verdict is in. They state that “not since Roman emperors competed to build the most sumptuous baths at Thermae Diocletian has the human body been so gloriously indulged, and in such magnificent places”. Although it was a daunting task, they put the question out to their readers and travelers as to where to find the best spas in the world and based on the results they received in response they listed the top 240 spas in North American, Central America, the Caribbean and Hawaii. Turtle Bay Resort’s Spa Luana was listed as number 11 on the list of Hawaii spas. You can check out the list here.

Spa Luana has a full list of services using the finest of the old and the new. Special care has been taken to use local and natural agreements in all of their treatments.

Come try it for yourself. Appointments can be set by calling (808) 447-6868 or they can be booked online.